I Will Never Fly with Cebu Pacific Again

Ten hours later, we finally landed in Sydney. It was a smooth flight, thanks to the captain and the crew but what happened in the airport before our flight took off at 11:30 in the evening made me decide not to fly with Cebu Pacific Air ever again — if it’s a long haul flight.

Let me go straight to the point here — you get what you pay for (full stop!).

It’s okay, you can laugh at me and say, “You knew but then you still did it anyway”. That’s a lesson my partner and I learned after what happened last July 5. 

To give you a quick backstory…

My friends and I planned a trip to Australia to attend one of our closest friends’ wedding. Although budget wasn’t an issue, it can be hard to resist once you see a good deal — or so we thought.

Our initial plan was to fly out from Cebu to Singapore and Singapore to Australia via Scoot or Singapore Air. These airlines aren’t the most affordable options. So when Cebu Pacific Air had one of its promos, we had to check how much the fare difference would be. 

If you fly with Cebu Pacific Air, a one-way fare to Sydney from Cebu costs around 7,000 pesos, without food and baggage allowance, while you’ll be spending approximately 15,000 more than that price if you choose to fly with Scoot or Singapore Air. The price difference is steep and worth noting so we bit the bait and booked the promo fare. 

Now here I am regretting the decision of choosing what I thought was “affordable”.

It was affordable in the sense that it was cheaper in price but the comfort, experience, service, and the system invalidate it altogether. 

#1 Self-transfer or auto-transfer?

There used to be a direct service from Cebu to Sydney before but then COVID happened. Routes were reduced and simplified to allow airlines to stay afloat. Now we’re back to flying from NAIA. 

Generally, if you book a connecting flight, the airline will either tell you that you don’t need to get your bags on your layover or you’ll have to self-transfer your bags. 

When we checked in, we were told several times to get our bags from the carousel upon arriving in NAIA (layover). Before leaving Cebu, I asked again to confirm that we had to self-transfer our bags and the ground staff repeatedly told us “Yes, Ma’am. You need to get your bags from the carousel and bring it to the check-in counters yourself”. 

Upon our arrival, we went straight to the carousel and waited for more than 20 minutes for our bags only to find out that it’s going to be auto-transfer. STRIKE ONE.

I don’t really mind doing self-transfer, it’s easy. You get the bags from the carousel and hand it to the transfer desk, done. I also understood how Australia has a strict border control protocol. They have to do an extra screening process hence the need to re-check-in the bags. 

What makes it annoying is the fact that Cebu Pacific Air’s ground personnel didn’t have the same script, process, protocol, system, or whatever you want to call it. They’re not even apologetic about it. 

#2 Connecting flight was an inconvenience

We took an earlier flight to Manila to avoid delays and also because I had to finish some work. We stayed inside the airport terminal only to find out that there are no charging stations. If you’re like me who works remotely, you need to go out of the terminal or clear immigration to access the passenger lounges and charging stations.

Five hours before our flight to Sydney, the check-in counters were opened and we lined up early because we knew immigration lines can get long too. Our check-in bags were not with us as Cebu Pacific personnel told us “Kami na po bahala, kami na po magdadala ng bagahe sa taas. (We’ll handle it and bring your bags to the check-in counter)”. Thanks to our AirTags, we can track our bags and check if it’s really at the airport.

What happened next was a major inconvenience. We lined up where the passengers bound for Sydney lined up. As an anxious and sigurista person, I always ask to confirm. I asked one of the security personnel if we were on the right lane since we were on a connecting flight and our check-in bags were not with us. She proceeded to tell us to go back to the end of the line and look for another security personnel to get our bags. So we did.

We were told our bags will be brought up to the counters after they locate it and it will take 40 minutes so “Kumain nalang muna kayo, Ma’am (You can eat first)”. STRIKE TWO!

If we didn’t ask the security personnel they wouldn’t have gotten our bags from God knows where! I asked my partner to approach the ground personnel at the counter several times to follow up because if I did it, I knew I would’ve lost it hearing how they “tried” to explain why it was taking so long to get our bags. 

#3 Taking an early flight doesn’t guarantee early entry

In case you missed the part, I’ll just reiterate this, we took the morning flight to Manila. I was confident we’ll encounter lesser delays because we were at the airport early or so I thought. We lined up right away after the check-in counters were opened. That’s approximately five (5) hours before our flight. 

We had one friend who was flying with us to Sydney. He had no connecting flight since he’s from Manila. He had to do the usual bag-drop and screening process. He arrived at the airport around seven (7) in the evening and finished at around eight (8). 

Our bags? Still nowhere in sight.  

I was holding onto that tiny straw of patience left — until 9PM — and still no bags in sight. I approached the counter calmly, asked nicely, only to be reasoned out “Ma’am, paakyat na po”. And by “paakyat na po” they meant they were supposed to bring the bags up two hours ago. 

I lost it and told the ground crew that it would’ve been better if they told us to claim our bags earlier, bring it ourselves, and redo the check-in process. I asked her where our bags were stored so we can just claim it ourselves. I think that would’ve been faster. It would’ve saved everybody’s time and effort too. 

I knew it wasn’t the ground crew’s fault but the airline’s shitty system. But because of my frustration, I told her off. I told her off and then the bags arrived so quick! I don’t know why it had to come that far. If voices weren’t raised, they wouldn’t have moved quicker. 

We finally got our bags, cleared immigration just a few minutes before our boarding time — a definite clutch! If you’ve flown to Sydney from the Philippines before, you know how strict they are, they even open your carry-on bags and get patted on before boarding the plane.

After boarding, I was deadbeat. It was one loooooooooooooong day. We arrived at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport the following morning, July 6th.

Will I fly with Cebu Pacific again? Yes, if it’s a domestic flight or if it’s flying directly from Cebu. Otherwise, I would prefer to pay a bit more for comfort and convenience. Gone are the days of bragging about cheap deals. I will never fly with Cebu Pacific if I have to do a layover in Manila, especially after experiencing that kind of service.

That’s one lesson learned.  

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