Lunchbox at 20,000 feet
Danton (a.k.a. Bakla sa 2010) and I took the noonday Cebu Pacific flight to Laoag. Even before the plane had taken off I was asleep; I only woke up when the plane was beginning its descent. Then I noticed that Danton, who was seated on my right, and the two gay men in the next row, would periodically, dramatically suck in their breaths like Eartha Kitt singing Boy from Ipanema (or Darth Vader climbing stairs). I asked Danton what was going on, and he puckered his lips and pointed them at the male flight attendant who was walking down the aisle. And I understood the extra oxygen requirement. The flight attendant, a tall, big-boned guy, was wearing tight pants that clung to the package. Right at eye level. That’s why the sisters were in a swoon.
Way to go, Cebu Pacific. And the flight was on time.
There was a small glitch on our return flight, this time on Philippine Airlines. Our air tickets had been purchased online and paid for with an office credit card. As we tried to check in for the return journey, we discovered that there is a PAL policy requiring passengers who bought their tickets online to present the credit card with which the ticket/s had been purchased. We did not have the credit card with us; it was in Manila. I don’t see why one has to show the actual credit card when the transaction has already been completed and the fares charged to the card. What a pain. It was the Saturday of a long weekend, and we couldn’t locate the office manager in Manila who had the credit card in question. Suppose your parents bought your tickets for you in the States and you’re not traveling together? Suppose the tickets were a gift?
Our host explained the situation to the ground crew, but they were adamant about their lousy policy, so we had to buy new tickets in order to get on the plane. The aggravation! Way to promote tourism, PAL.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
November 5th, 2007 at 00:03
Hi Jessica, I hope a representative of PAL has read your post and do something fast. Purpose of on-line sales was to make purchase of tickets fast without the hassle of lining up at ticketing centers or going thru travel agents…. Thanks for the tip.
November 5th, 2007 at 04:31
Eh, it happens in the States too. Hotels and airlines. PAL should fix this by allowing for online check-in so all you’ll need to show are the boarding pass you printed yourself and your ID.
November 5th, 2007 at 14:21
Hah, small glitch and they’ve been at it for decades…Hulp, can’t stop the jingle running through my head now – the beauty of the Philippines comes shining through such, uhm, glitches. LOL!
November 5th, 2007 at 16:50
Every time I fly PAL, my flight gets delayed/canceled or I encounter some minor disaster that ruins my day. I’ve only tried Cebu Pacific once and I was very satisfied with their service. I loved the sporty get-up of the attendants, too. =D
November 5th, 2007 at 21:30
Hi! Hindi lang po PAL ang hindi marunong mag explain ng policy nila. Even the NAIA POEA help desk,is of no help re the Overseas Employment Certificate,so when you’re a freelancer/consultant,about to go abroad for work, you will be held in NAIA. The reason: their policy cannot classify you as a professional because you don’t have a contract,duh! freelance nga eh. So you’ll just buy that extra ticket to get around it. Hay!!!
November 6th, 2007 at 01:13
With all the credit card frauds, PAL just thought of exaggerating something just to appear that they’re doing their part to avoid that problem. But jeesh, that policy is beyond stupidity and moronic combined together…IT’S NOT ALWAYS THAT THE ONE WHO PURCHASE THE EFFING TICKETS ARE THE ONES WHO FLY… Ka-gunggungan yun ah!
February 1st, 2008 at 14:42
good thing i read this post…
i have a scheduled flight to LA (my first ever out-of-the-country trip, yippeee). My cousin bought the round trip PAL ticket for me from her travel agent in LA, charged to her credit card… exactly the case you mentioned.
problem is, i called PAL ASAP to spare me from the hassles… alas, the customer service doesn’t know exactly about their policy…
pfffftttt….