Cebu Pacific (CEB) apologized to Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez for the handling of a delayed flight he took last week and said it would take measures to further improve its services.
Benitez on Thursday, July 27, informed CEB about his disappointment and frustration over the airlines’ handling of its delayed flight that he took on Wednesday night, July 26.
CEB Flight 5j471 was supposed to leave the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for the Bacolod-Silay Airport at 8:45 p.m., but departed almost three hours later at about 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The problem was there was poor information dissemination, uncooperative staff, airport monitors showed different departure times and gate assignments changed several times, Benitez said.
“We apologize for the delay which was primarily caused by inclement weather which had a knock on effect on our flights. We would like to thank you for your feedback and observations so we can further improve communication and information dissemination with our passengers,” Lei Apostol, CEB vice president for customer service operations, said in a letter to Benitez.
“We would like to visit your office to keep you updated on the progress of our efforts to improve,” she also said.
She said they had done an initial investigation and have run it against the points he raised.
“At the time that you requested for an audience with a supervisor and/or a manager, we recognize that our line staff could have given you better information and this is something we will look to address, “Apostol said.
She said all their flights in Manila have recordings of ground announcements made – this is to ensure they have the ability to monitor and coach performance as needed.
For the flight Benitez took, she said they listened to two recorded announcements.
“While there were announcements at 8:16 p.m. and another at 8:37 p.m. to inform passengers of the delay, we note that the announcements should be improved and we will work on this together with our ground handler,” she said.
On the inconsistency in the Flight Information Display System (FIDS) raised by Benitez, she said two yellow screens are managed by CEB, while the third is managed by the Manila International Airport Authority.
The FIDS of CEB reflects a more accurate activity as it is connected to their network that provides live updates on flight status, she said.
As for the remaining FIDS board, she told Benitez that MIAA has agreed to put measures to reflect parallel and accurate flight information.
“Our carriers should be more considerate of their passengers and handling of information about the flight should be of utmost priority. People left hanging is the worst,” the mayor had said in his complaint.*