Bad time with Airphil Express

Ok. I'm supposed to blog about this last January but because I was so very busy in school, I haven't got the time to write about this awful experience with AirPhil Express. Now that I'm on vacation, I can already let go of my sentiments.

Well, this is what happened...

I traveled to Cebu on December 2011. 

On October 2011, I already purchased a plane ticket to Cebu from Cagayan de Oro for a Christmas vacation. I did not purchase a return ticket yet since that time, I was not yet sure when would I'd be able to go back to CDO.

Sometime in  November 2011, I learned that there was another promo for a December flight and since I already made my mind to go back to CDO on December 26, I went straight to a travel agency located in front of the gym (where I go to) to book for a return ticket. I got the ticket for more or less than 900 pesos and paid it on cash. The schedule of my flight though was 5:40 pm.

Fast forward. I went to Cebu on December 23, 2011 and spent my Christmas there. So on December 26, I was bound to go back to CDO.

I was already at the airport 2 hours before the flight and a bad news came up. Our flight was delayed because of bad weather. Yes, it was raining that time. We were told to wait for another 30 minutes. We waited and waited and finally, they announced that we will be going on board already. We (passengers) settled ourselves inside the aircraft and I was excited to go home already. So the plane took off and after quite some time, I can already see the lights of CDO from up above. Yes, we finally arrived. However, the plane just went on going round and round up on the air. After 10 minutes, the pilot announced that there was ZERO VISIBILITY at CDO and that we will be going to the nearest airport instead (That means going back to Cebu-Mactan Airport). You could just imagine how dismayed we were when we heard that but we have no choice.

The plane got back to Cebu and we landed safely. As we head towards the airport, two Airphil staff accompanied us again inside and we were told to claim our baggages, go get our terminal fees refunded, and go straight to Airphil Express office just outside the airport. We followed the instructions. As I came to the Airphil Express office, the office was already full of people (passengers of that flight) and we were given priority numbers. That was about 8pm already and I was number 65. The staff told us the flight was CANCELLED. The staff told us that we have two options: reschedule our flight or get a refund. 

Ok. Sounds good, right? But not in my case. 

Reschedule the flight. 

The passengers, including me, were complaining because the next flight available would be on December 28 (two days after) on the same time (5:40 pm). They said flights on the next day (December 27) were already full and the earliest would be on Dec 28 at 5:40pm. They even blamed the weather. C'mon! Who would like to hear that piece of cr*p? Good thing I have a relative in Cebu where I could spend two days for free but what about those who are only on vacation. Does that mean they have to pay for their accommodation, food, and other expenses for another two days? Not only that, I've learned that some of the passengers were on a business trip and that they have to be in CDO that night. Geee. 

Refund.

Because I did not like the first option, I called my brother to fetch me up at the airport and asked him to go to Cebu Pacific outlet to ask for the schedule of their flights. When he went there, the "teller" told him that Dec 27 flights were already full but they have an early flight on December 28 at 5:00 in the morning. So, I decided right there and then that I'd book a flight with Cebu Pacific since I no longer wanted to go on a late afternoon flight with Airphil. I asked Airphil if I could get a refund since I paid the ticket on cash, and they said YES. But since it was already about 11pm and I was already hungry (they did not even offer us food), I asked that man in that office if i could get the refund at the CDO Airphil office instead. According to him, I can do that anytime at the CDO Airphil Office and all I have to do is to show my ticket to them. I asked him again if that's true and he said YES again. That's clear, right? So, me and my brother went back to their house and my stay in Cebu extended.

December 28 came. Since my flight with Cebu Pacific is at 5:00 am, I went to the airport at 2:30 am. When I arrived, I saw that the Airphil Express office was already open and a man (staff) was already at the counter. I went inside and inquired about the refund. I gave him my ticket and explained to him about the December 26 cancelled flight and he immediately typed something on the computer. Bad news again. He told me that the status of my flight was "USED". I hysterically told him I wasn't able to use that ticket because the flight was cancelled. He called someone on the phone and verified about my status. After that, he told me that he could not give the refund yet because only their supervisor could change the status. When will that be? He said the supervisor will go there at 2 pm. C'mon! My flight was 5am. So I asked him again if I could get the refund at the CDO office instead. He said yes. I asked him again if how sure he was that I could get my refund there. He told me he was sure about it and that he took my ticket number and info, wrote them down on a piece of paper and said he would follow-up. Ok, so I went out and got inside the airport. 

When I arrived in CDO, I got so very busy meeting up with friends and relatives. I also attended a lot of events and activities until the New Year that I wasn't able to visit the Airphil office in CDO right away. 

On January 2, 2012, I was already free and I took the time to visit the Airphil office hoping that I'll be able to get the refund.  I went there at 1pm, a lady assisted me and I explained to her about what happened on December 26 and what the Airphil staff in Cebu told me about the refund. So she checked something on the website again and she said the status is still "USED". She referred my case to someone inside the office and she told me they would be calling the Main office in Manila to verify my status. So, I waited and waited. I waited for almost 2 hours. Finally, she said that they could not find any information yet. She even told me that I should have done a follow-up last December. Geee. Lame.

She told me to leave my contact number and that they would just call me if I would get the refund already. I asked her their contact number too so that I could make a follow-up as well.

8 days after that, I did not receive a call. It was already January 10, so I took the initiative to call them up. When I called, this is what the lady on the other side of the phone told me. She said that they could not give me the refund because only the Cebu office could access my account (that means the status and everything) and that the Cebu office's the one that should give the refund since the cancelled flight happened in CEBU! I was pissed off hearing that from her. Imagine! I hysterically asked her "Miss, I'm already in CDO. How am I supposed to get the refund from Cebu if I'm here?" She told me again that they could not do anything with that because they don't have a connection with the Cebu office and that their systems were different. I asked her "Miss, don't you have an interbranch communication or transaction in Airphil? Because the CEBU staff clearly told me that I could get my refund here in CDO anytime. I even asked them many times and I got the same answer. Why is it so different now?" Then she just told me that they were just following the rules in their office. Gggrrrr. Because I was angry, I put the phone down. I did not want to hear cr*ppy statements anymore. Plus, if I didn't call them, probably they would just ignore my case and would not call me. Playing on deaf ears, my gosh!

I called my brother after that and told him to go to the Cebu Airphil office at the airport and get my refund. When my brother went there, the staff asked for the ticket but it was not with him because..... it was with me. No, it was still at the Airphil office here in CDO. They said they would not give the refund if my brother would not show them the ticket and an authorization letter coming from me authorizing my brother to get the refund for me. 

Plus, what made me so angry (to the highest level) was when they told my brother that I should have gotten my refund when I was still in CEBU. It felt that they were blaming me for not getting my refund while still in Cebu and going through this kind of hassle, when in fact it is them who told me that I could get my refund in CDO ANYTIME. I asked them many times and their answer was always yes.

I WAS and I AM STILL SO DISAPPOINTED. I am not disappointed because my flight got delayed and eventually got cancelled, I am so disappointed with Airphil's system in handling customers going through the experience I had. Until now, I did not get my refund. My ticket is still at the Airphil office here in CDO. But I have no intention of going back there. Airphil just lost a customer, not just me but my entire family, relatives, and friends.