My experience with my daughter last June 19, 2016 may not be the worst, I must admit--if I would compare it to those of others' I have read on Facebook--but it was still an inconvenience just the same. Hey, the last thing you would want to do when you are travelling is to be stuck for more than 6 hours in the waiting area of ANY Philippine airport! Er, well, unless you revel on sugar-filling your blood with Cinnabon pastries, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Caramel Ice Blended Drinks, or Megamelt Ensaymada.
This story is not all whining and complaining though. It has a happy ending. Don't believe it? Well, I feel incredulous about it myself. Anyway, I'm writing this for all of my friends out there who would find themselves in the same predicament.
Anyway, here's my story:
On June 19, our Air Asia flight from Manila to Cebu was at 3:00 p.m. At about 9:00 a.m., Air Asia texted and emailed me that our flight would be moved to 4:10 p.m. Okay, no harm done. At least when they sent their message, it was still early, and we were still at our condo in Katipunan. We even had time to go around BGC and had lunch there.
When we arrived at Terminal 4 an hour before our flight (we checked in online), it was announced that our departure was moved to 6:00 p.m. At this point, we groaned inwardly, but knowing how this is a normal occurrence to all Philippine flights, we just took it a matter-of-factly.
6:00 p.m. passed by...no boarding announcement. At 7:00 p.m., they announced that the passengers of Z2765 shall be given complimentary dinner. We knew that this would mean one thing--a longer delay. Was I thankful for the Jollibee chicken meal? Let's say that I would have rather flown home to Cebu than be eating Chicken Joy with plastic spoon and fork. But beggars couldn't be choosers, right? So I embarrassingly queued for my meal ration.
At around 8:00 p.m., we were finally asked to board the plane. Tired of waiting for 5 hours, we were just relieved to be boarding. But.....15 minutes.....30 minutes.....an hour passed by. Some passengers had dozed off (my daughter and I included), only to have woken up and found out that we were still at the Manila tarmac and still hadn't taken off. At exactly 9:03, the captain apologetically announced that we had to deplane due to a reason I already forgot. Blame it on the Chicken Joy with rice, instead of spaghetti.
Before this announcement, the passengers were surprisingly quiet and tolerant (probably due to the bribed Jollibee dinner?). But all hell went loose when we were inside the waiting lounge again. Many passengers were angry. One smart-looking lady was shouting about the Philippines' Air Passengers Bill of Rights. That dinner was not enough. That the Airline should not only bring the passengers to the booked destination, but also should reimburse everyone the full amount of ticket.
With my daughter crying beside me, (out of sheer frustration and exhaustion, no judgment please!), I tried to research online whether that lady passenger's pronouncement was true.
And so there's really a law protecting passengers, eh? Note to myself: Complain to Air Asia the moment you reach home.
In the meantime, the Air Asia ground staff gave us another round of snacks. I surreptitiously peered at the others who were eager to get their freebies. This time, the staff gave away two packs of chocolate cream sandwiches and a bottle of water. I refused to line up anymore just for empty calorie snacks. No, sir/ma'am.
The minutes ticked like hours. Finally, 15 minutes before 11:00 p.m., we were asked to board again. We took off at 11:10 p.m. and arrived Cebu at around 1:30 a.m.
That was 8 hours of delay. Surely, that would merit a reimbursement or a compensation of some sort. So, I sent a private message to Air Asia through Faceboook.
After just an hour of sending my message, Air Asia replied and instructed me to fill up a complaint form on their website, which I immediately did.
Today, July 30, 2016, after over a month of filing my complaint, I received an email from Air Asia:
I'm grinning ear to ear. I'm getting Php1,585.72 of credit! I could use this to book a flight within 90 days. I also noted that the actual travel date could be even after the 90-day expiration of the credit shell.
So it's true, folks. The airlines are obliged to give us compensation for a flight delay of at least 6 hours. Sadly, I don't think the other passengers on my flight knew about this. Maybe I was the only one who had the patience to complain. Oh, maybe that feisty lady at the airport also filed one too.
The Air Passengers Bill of Rights is not a myth. Let's fight for our rights, Pinoys!
