Senators called on Wednesday for a tougher policy on air passengers rights to address the cancellations and delays in flights by local airlines besetting travelers.
The call was made during an inquiry by the Senate Committee on Tourism after receiving numerous complaints against Cebu Pacific’s overbooking, offloading and other booking glitches.
Sen. Grace Poe said this pressing public service issue calls for urgent effective solutions as it involves not only the air passengers’ rights, but also the overall impact on the country’s tourism and economy.
“Price and value are two different things. Dapat maayos ang serbisyo kahit sa seat sale nabili ang ticket (The service should be good even if the ticket was bought during a seat sale),” Poe said.
While overbooking is a globally accepted practice, Poe said “systematic delays and cancellations are not” noting that complaints of cancellations against Philippine Airlines have also increased.
The lawmaker also noticed the lack of crisis management personnel from the airlines who are supposed to handle complaints.
“Dagdag pasakit din ang masalimuot na rebooking at refund process, at kawalan ng rightful compensation. ‘Di rin nakakatulong ang mahirap na pakikipag-usap sa chat bots sa halip na customer service representatives at help desks tuwing may aberya (Rebooking, refund process, and lack of rightful compensation are also additional burden. Talking to chat bots instead of customer service representatives and help desks also makes it harder when these issues occur),” Poe said.
Under the joint Department of Transportation – Department of Trade and Industry (DOTr-DTI) Administrative Order No. 01, series of 2012 or the Air Passenger Bill of Rights, an air passenger has the right to be provided with accurate information before purchase, right to receive the full value of the service purchased and right to compensation.
It is also provided under the order that “whenever a flight is overbooked, the air carrier shall announce that the flight is overbooked and that it is looking for volunteers willing to give up their seats in exchange for air carrier compensation.”
Sen. Nancy Binay, who chairs the panel, explained that the government has to uphold both convenience and service by checking if the local airlines observe the 5 percent allowable overbooking set by the Civil Aviation Board with proper compensation to the affected passengers.
“What has been highlighted so far in this hearing is the lack of customer handling. Our passengers, it seems, have nowhere to turn for their grievances,” Binay said.
“Dahil sa kawalan ng human touch, lalong naaagrabyado ang ating mga pasahero (Because of the lack of human touch, passengers are further aggrieved),” she added before suspending the inquiry hoping that the next discussions will result into stronger policies for a smoother air travel in the country. (PNA)
