Cancelled Flight

One of the most memorable thing that happened to my recent vacation is to have our flight cancelled. It is my first time to encounter this. Most people will be annoyed. I also got annoyed as I need to extend another day in Puerto Princesa, Palawan and our budget is quite short. I'm on a tight budget. Hahaha! And I also need to notify my boss at work that I won't be able to come to work the next day as my flight is scheduled at noon. Good thing, my boss is quite understanding! Hahaha! For my girlfriend, it is her rest day so it won't be a problem at all.

The airline is Cebu Pacific. It is a low cost airline so it is perfect for those people who wants to save money. I usually book our flights during a seat sale because it is way much cheaper. The seat reservation is just limited so you need to book early. On my Facebook account, I have set to see the Cebu Pacific's account post first. So whenever they post a seat sale, I'll see it first! That's just a tip. Thank me later. Hahaha :)

So here's our story... Supposedly, our flight is scheduled at 5:35pm. We were at the airport by 1pm to do early check in. Good thing, we decided to have a snack and be back by 3:30pm. On their check in counter, they actually decided to put us on an earlier flight. However, they said that the flight would be delayed. They did not know how long, they just said that it would be delayed. They said that it is due to the traffic in NAIA and the strong wind in Palawan at that time. It was 5:40pm and the crew decided to provide us snacks (bottled water and cup noodles). I really appreciate them taking care of us. 

Then by 7:30pm, they FINALLY announced that the flights would be cancelled. 2 flights going to Manila was cancelled. We are left with no option but to stay there for 1 more night. They asked us to proceed in the check in counter to rebook our flight. I immediately went there as I know that they will ask us to fall in line. I left my bag to my girlfriend and proceed to the check in counter. They already created a back-up plan for us.

They have 3 different lines, for rebooking of flight, hotel accomodation and travel voucher. All of it was not organized. It's like that it is their first time to encounter this too. After rebooking of flight, you need to fall in line again. That was too tiring. We are already tired waiting then they want us to fall in line 3 times. Other passengers are already giving recommendation to make it faster but it seems that their supervisor doesn't care. After few discussions and after an hour, they listened to us! Now this time, for all of the lines, you can now process all 3 of them.

On Cebu Pacific's site, they have listed the following policy:

Cebu Pacific follows below flight disruption policy for on-the-spot disruptions at the terminal:

For disruptions 6 hours and up:

• Options available to guests are:
• Rebooking to another flight within thirty (30) days without charges
• Full Travel Fund
• Full refund
• Amenities we may extend to guests are:
• Serve food on the 3rd hour and every 3 hours of delay thereafter
• One-way travel voucher
• Hotel stay (if necessary)
• Transport (if necessary)

For more details about the Flight Disruption Policy, you can visit this link.

To summarize, what we got from the cancelled flight:

1. Snack (cup noodles and water)

2. Free rebooking
3. Dinner (Jollibee chicken)
4. Hotel Accommodation + buffet breakfast
5. Hotel Transfers from and to the airport
6. FREE DOMESTIC FLIGHT (I'll have another post how to claim it)

For the accommodation, it was pretty good. They let us stay in Sunlight Guest Hotel. Though it's 5-10 minutes away from the airport, their service is pretty good. What I like the most is their buffet breakfast and of course, their service! :) 

Though we got annoyed that our flight was cancelled, it is still a good thing that we had this freebies given by Cebu Pacific. I'll say that they took good care of their customers. Will I choose Cebu Pacific again? Well, of course!

What's your experience? Kindly share it in my comment box :)