CebuPac chief apologizes for passenger inconvenience

MANILA, Philippines - Cebu Pacific president and chief executive officer Lance Gokongwei apologized yesterday for the “regrettable events” that caused inconvenience to thousands of passengers during the Christmas holidays as he gave assurances that the airline is implementing measures to prevent a repeat of the mess.

Gokongwei read the apology before the House committee on transportation and communications, which is conducting a hearing on various complaints against the airline, such as flight cancellations and delays which stranded thousands of passengers last Dec. 24, 25 and 26 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

“Last Christmas, we let them (Cebu Pacific passengers) down. And I am profoundly sorry that we failed them,” Gokongwei said, claiming that after the commotion during the holidays, the airline “has done a lot of soul-searching.”

“Many of the places we have chosen to fly are not served by any other airline so we understand the reliance those communities have on us. That is what makes the regretful events of last Christmas so painful,” he said.

He vowed to win back the trust of passengers, as he pointed out that six out of 10 Filipinos choose to fly within the country via Cebu Pacific and that 17 million have flown with the budget airline in 2014.

Gokongwei admitted the airline’s service was found wanting when it could not recover from some aircraft technical issues and the effects of weather disturbances, which caused some flights to be cancelled or delayed during the holidays.

He said the airline’s ground handling agents for domestic flights were beset with “unprecedented absenteeism, which created a chaotic situation at our check-in counters.”

Gokongwei said the performance of the firm that manages ground handling for domestic flights is now under review.

“In hindsight, we should have been more aggressive in pursuing remedial measures, including increasing the number of frontline staff and being more vigilant in the supervision of our ground handlers. We subsequently redeployed staff from other departments and stations to address the shortfall,” he said.

He noted that Cebu Pacific has started implementing measures to prevent a repeat of the incident, which include requiring its domestic ground handler to immediately take corrective measures; contracting a second ground handler to supplement domestic check-in and serve as an alternative buffer; strengthening management control through a 24/7 hub that would monitor key areas and systems and raise red flags before a situation deteriorates; coordinating more closely with NAIA-3 management for the use of additional facilities when needed, particularly during peak travel periods; and devoting one of Cebu Pacific’s brand-new Airbus 320 arriving in the first quarter of the year as an additional hot spare to supplement its existing two spares.

Hot spares serve as standby aircraft ready to fly anytime and anywhere to assist disrupted passengers in case of technical or other delays, Gokongwei said.

P52-million fine: Too much or not enough?

The Cebu Pacific chief acknowledged that the budget airline would need to pay the penalty for the mess, but said his legal team is still studying whether the P52-million fine imposed by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was fair.

Cebu Pacific officials said they would contest the fine and would question it before the courts, if necessary.

“We admit that we are responsible for shortcomings. We agree that we have to pay the penalty. But our legal team is reviewing the basis and the amount because of possible precedents,” Gokongwei told the panel . – With Jess Diaz