Ooooppsss! there we fly again!

I had a "merry-go-round" trip last Friday...

Two weeks ago, my boss told me that I shall fly down to Siargao for a meeting. Wow, didn't I just sound like a corporate executive? Wait 'til I finish this.

Apparently, the company I work for is venturing into travel and tourism. They are developing a first class resort in Siargao, the home of prominent surfing waves called cloud 9. As the opening date is getting closer, we're burdened with a lot of preparations that needed me to go there to meet up with the travel agent from Germany and the resort's General Manager as well. So the trip is all about work, work and work. NOT pleasure.

I wasn't excited when my boss broke the news to me. Four days in the island with lots of work waiting is not my idea of an idyllic scene. Anyhoo, I've been to this paradise ten years ago and I was truly amazed with their rich biodiversity, unspoiled nature and pristine beach. That was one of my biggest trip back then (when I was still a student and could hardly afford an out-of-town trip for three days).

With less anticipation for pleasure and more on the business side, I packed my things for an unusual trip. My mother was kinda worried because of the looming typhoon on that part of the world. I reasoned that if the weather won't cooperate the airline will surely cancel the flight, but seriously, I'm already bracing for a bumpy, turbulent ride.

At the airport, I met up with my travel companion - the travel agent from Germany and three of his friends which he invited to tag along, my colleague and the newly hired staff for the island. This 'newly hired staff' doesn't know what 8 o'clock sharp meant. He showed up at 8:30am when the counter is about to close. I was already pissed knowing I showed up early so I can still have breakfast and he is about to ruin it coz we're boarding in the next 10 minutes. I decided to swing by Dunkin Donuts to grab a sandwich and a cup of coffee when the paging system called out our names. Holy cow! For the first time in my whole darn life I became famous (insert sarcasm here). And when we went up inside the plane, all passengers we're staring at us. We'll who wouldn't? We were the last passengers to board. Damn that newly hired staff!!!

Forty-five minutes later the captain announced we're about to land. Ten minutes later I still couldn't catch a glimpse of the runway. It was cloudy and foggy all over. Then I saw the ground below kinda blurry because of the heavy rain that poured just as we descended. I felt the plane touched the ground, like 5 seconds in the runway when it suddenly revved up and went up again. I was bewildered. I was looking at the flight attendant searching for answers but she was calmly seated in the front like telling us there's nothing to be worried about. Some passengers we're looking at one another, wondering why we took off. Others we're scared, panicky but the good thing was everybody tried to be calm.

I wasn't scared though. But I was worried why the pilot made that maneuver. I'm playing possible reasons in my mind while trying to control my fear. I guess it helps when you travel a lot. I've had some of the worst travel experience... and that particular situation shall become part of the list.

A minute later we heard the captain speaking from the cabin. He said, the rain poured heavily on our way down and the visibility of the runway isn't favorable for safe landing that is why he had to took off immediately.

Okay, for a moment there the tension eased. I was about to ask the flight attendant if we landed at the wrong airport. Glad I did not ask about that or it would have made me look stupid haha!

We were circling above the thick clouds for the next 40, read that : f-o-r-t-y-m-i-n-u-t-e-s before the pilot attempted his second landing. I guess, some things aren't just meant to be because halfway through the attempt, we ascended again and I felt the plane turning to the right.

We headed back to Cebu as it is not safe to land due to bad weather condition. I commended the staff of this airline for not compromising our safety. I was frustrated that I was not able to get there. But yeah, it's better not getting to our destination than not getting back home.

Anyhoo, that was the longest I've gone - Cebu to Cebu in two hours!!! hahaha! Beat that!

Back in Cebu airport we were faced with a long queue coz everyone's trying to get the next possible flight to Siargao. My boss who was worried about our situation called up and told me he was at the airport and saw our plane touched down then flew again. All he could say was : "Oh there they go. Happened to me thrice." Hahaha! I'm glad we're not the only one who had experienced that kind of predicament.

And because we needed to be at the resort this weekend, and the next flight to the island is on Monday, the only option we had was to go on chartered flight. Few minutes later I was talking to someone who charters flight to Siargao. But since it's a 5-seater plane, and there were 7 of us, my colleague and I volunteered to step out. I mean, that kind of weather and a small plane doesn't appeal to me. Besides, the pilot told us that it's still raining in Siargao but he can possibly land because the sky is clearing. On my part, I don't want to take chances. Not this time. I've been up in the air for two solid hours thinking if we can land or not. That's pretty tiring already and I don't wanna go through the same situation again.

By 2PM the small plane departed from the hangar. An hour after I was told they were able to land safely. Thank God.

Back home I was effing tired and sleepy. It was a veeeeery long day for me. But you know the perks of that trip? I saw this heart-shaped island en route Siargao. It was sooooo lovely! The sad part is, I was not able to take a pic coz my camera was on my bag which I obligely dropped at the baggage counter. Grrrrr...!!! Anyway, the next time I'll go there I'll make sure to take a snapshot.

And that was the only thing that made my trip worthwhile... :)

fed up with CEBU PACIFIC!!! (Part 2: The Sorry Story)

This post is actually a sequel to my unfinished rant on my supposed "FREE FLIGHT" privilege from Cebu Pacific. I was pondering whether to blog this or not because I don't want to sound like a senile, old woman fuming over some petty, insignificant matters. But as expected my impulses and annoyance got the better of me and I thought that unloading these shrapnels of disappointment would be a better way to get even (at least) with them.

So I went a bit overboard and called up nine times already since last week. In case you're wondering if I don't ever get tired? Well, I do and I'm totally fed up. Imagine how many times they had to put  me on hold while they check on their records. I was disconnected twice and I would redial and wait for a good three minutes before the call went through. I patiently obeyed, not a single whine, when they said to call back after 24 hours coz they have to re-evaluate, re-check, re-validate my concern. Notice the prefix "re", it's getting on my nerves! And so after I e-mailed the scanned copy of the callling card they gave to me at the airport, at the time of my disrupted flight, I was keeping my hopes up that I would FINALLY get that fucking FREE FLIGHT.

The operator, in her most soothing, sympathetic voice (take note that I was already on the phone for five minutes and have been put on hold twice) broke the sorry news to me. MY FREE FLIGHT VOUCHER IS INVALID.

Wait. Say that again?

My free flight voucher is invalid.

After all the calling, the follow-up, which totally made me look like I'm a cheapskate, this is the answer I'm gonna get??? What the ****!!!!
The reason? Cancelled flights due to bad weather do not entitle a free flight. Apparently, their staff made a mistake of issuing a travel voucher to the passengers.

Fine.

I was trying to be in my best behavior despite the nagging feeling, the clenching fist and the urge to transform into a psycho-freak godzilla. I've been running profane words in my head that I wanted to scream at them while my mouth is ready to curse at 60 words per minute at any given time. Before my sight went blank I took a deep breath and told the operator I'm fine with it and put down the phone. (I really wanted to slam the receiver but I'm not willing to pay for the damage.)

Here's my message to CEBU PACIFIC :
SUCK.YOUR.FREE.FLIGHT!

CRAP!

You made us (me in particular) fool at your scheming tactics by not informing us right away that it was all a mistake!


I was on that special flight which you set up the following day for those passengers whose flight have been disrupted, yet no one bothered, no, make that CARED to inform us that the travel voucher you issued was a fucking piece of shit!

What an efficient system you have. You made me call nine times before you finally figured this is another slip-up on your part?!


Well, thank you for making my day. I really look forward to fly with you soon! (note sarcasm on the tone)


P.S. I really wanted to throw more harsh words to them but i'm no miss sent me ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD this morning. Yayyy!!! That definitely made my day and mellowed my rage. I'll be posting it tomorrow since I wouldn't surely sound lovely after I've blown my top.




Related post : fed up with CEBU PACIFIC!!!

fed up with CEBU PACIFIC!!!!

I've had enough!

So they think it's fine for their paying customer to call over and over and over to their goddamn hotline and wait for 3-5 minutes before an operator picks it and attends to your concern?

So they think it's perfectly fine that after calling for the fifth time, the answer I'm gonna get from them is to call back after 24 hours?

So they honestly believe that I'm enjoying every single minute of my precious time on the phone reciting about my concern for the nth time until they finally get the message across that all I want is to get my FREE FLIGHT ticket for crying out loud!!!

I sounded cheapskate, didn't I?

Before you mull on the impression that I'm indeed a cheapskate - HEAR ME OUT!

Last March 31, the flight back to my hometown was cancelled due to bad weather. If you happened to read my blog, My first taste of flight inconvenience you already know how messy that day was for me, and I refuse to recall the summary of events on that day simply because I just don't want to remember it. Period.

Okay. Let's cut to the chase. As a way of making up for the disrupted flight, the airline gave freebie to the annoyed passengers. In this case, the freebie is a FREE FLIGHT to any local destination, valid for 6 months. Yay!!! Isn't it such a great idea? I have an upcoming trip this June and I might as well make use of it.

So last week I called the number on the card eager to claim my free flight. The operator asked for the travel voucher number. Hell, what is that? That personnel in the airport only gave me a card which resembles a calling card with their hotline number on it and an instruction at the back on how to redeem the free flight. There was no writing of any number of sorts that would look like a travel voucher or whatever.

Then she said "Ah, they must have given you the old tavel voucher. I'll just check our record for the number." So we're settled then.

After two minutes......

Apparently, Cebu airport hasn't updated their system. Meaning - they haven't allocated a travel voucher yet for those flight cancelled on March 31st. Meaning - I won't be able to redeem that effing free flight yet, though the guidelines clearly said it is redeemable 24 hours after flight disruption. 24 hours had definitely passed. It's been almost 2 weeks my friend. What the heck!

I made another call after an hour (coz she said so) hoping their system has been updated. And probably by then she can see my name on the list telling her I am entitled to that damn freaking free flight. Well, looks like I'm into some wild goose chasing. Their system cannot put up with my simple demand coz until this very day, this very hour, they still ask me to call back tomorrow. Then the day after tomorrow and so on and so forth. C'mon! I mean we're not in 1960s?! We're suppose to have real-time data and information as commnication is getting better and sophisticated these days.

I really had enough!

Screw Cebu Pacific and your fuckin' free flight!!!!

My first taste of flight inconvenience

Sure I thought I won't be blogging for the rest of the week as my way of doing sacrifice (internet fasting, that is) for the Lenten season. But just before the onset of Holy Thursday, I never thought there's a need for me to unload this unsatisfying, disappointing feeling that urged me to sit on a chair, turn on the computer and blog about it. The thing I like about writing, or blogging for that matter, is it allows me to speak up my mind, say out loud what's in my heart, rant about everything and anything I could think of, without feeling guilty that I can hurt somebody else's feeling. The fact that I can completey share my thoughts without being afraid that someone might contradict or reject them is liberating. So speaking of liberating - I want to liberate this gnashing feeling I had in my heart, coz for a second, I thought I'm having hypertension.

This is such a terrible day! Actually, as of this writing, I'm supposed to be home with my family. Like I said in my previous blog, I'm spending lenten season back home. I'm a type of person who plans ahead. Who sees to it that everything is in order. Who wants to be in control of her time. So because I knew that going home at this point of time, where everyone else are also taking a trip back to their respective homes, I knew darn well airport is a mess - flights fully booked, passengers here and there. So I booked my flight two months in advance. Roundtrip. I arrived early (I seriously take the "check-in one hour before departure" rule). Everything was fine. I got my ticket and proceeded to the waiting area excited to read the book I brought along. But lo and behold! After passing my things on the x-ray machine, the guard asked me to check-in the herbal medicines (which are for my mother). Normally, I'd hand carry them. And I've been doing it for quite sometime. And since arguing with the guard, who obviously is just doing her job, is the least of my concern, I agreed to go back to the counter and have the bottles checked in. Oh I thought I would only pay an additional 100 pesos, but wait, why are they making me pay 400 pesos? 400 pesos for the damn 6 bottles that weighs 3 kilos? Are they kidding me? Coz it's not at all funny! And I can remember well, very well, that when you travel go-lite (go-lite means you don't have baggage for check-in but you're allowed to hand carry 2 of your belongings but not exceeding 7 pounds), you will only add a hundred peso in case you decide to have your baggage checked in. Of course I told the airline personnel about that, yet she insisted on her point so who am I to insist on mine when I'm not even sure if they have amended the rule or not. Okay, 400 pesos down the drain huhuhuhu... Good thing I had some extra cash so I didn't run around the airport like an idiot looking for an atm machine like what had happened two years ago when the payment for my excess baggage went nuts.

Boarding time...

One thing I like about this airline is that they usually call their passengers to board the aircraft 30 minutes ahead of departure time. And as soon as everyone is seated comfortably on their seats, attendants done demonstrating safety measures in cases of emergency and all those tape-recorded reminders (which I had already memorized), up we go climbing high into the sky. But today was different. I was seated in the front row beside the window which is actually my favorite spot and Im so happy about it, yet I noticed the flight attendants weren't doing their usual routine - headcounts, demonstrating how to put on a lifevest, etc. I glanced on my watch and 10 minutes have already pass the hour of our ETD. A few moments later, the captain's voice emerged from the cockpit, informing us that our flight will be shortly delayed. Apparently, the airport at my destination was closed due to bad weather. Well, what else is knew... I always say that my hometown is Forks. Yep, that Forks in twilight, where Bella Swan and the Cullen lives, that famous book, remember? Take this as a joke : there are only two seasons in my hometown, rainy season .... and.... VERY rainy season!

We waited for 3o minutes. Then another 30 minutes. I keep on twitching from my seat. Another 30 minutes. And I'm no longer reading the book. What the hell is wrong? And why I'm hearing flight attendants saying we're deplaning. Deplaning? Oh my God!!!! The flight was cancelled!!! It took all my sanity to realize and understand the simple word CANCELLED! What the ****?!!!! Urrrggghhhhh!!!! I'm sooooo... disappointed? dismayed? angry? frustrated? Name it!! To hell with the rain!!! Why does it have to rain on this day, on that hour, at that time exactly? I don't blame the airline for taking such action, they're doing us a favor actually. I mean they're looking at our safety and as much as I wanted to go home, I wouldn't wanna go home unidentified or worse unfound because the plane crashed. Ewwww.... Trust me, I'm best at having morbid thoughts hahaha!

So I went back to the counter hoping there are still available flights. And like I said, it's peak season so you don't expect to catch a vacant flight easily. And the line is so long! And what's taking us more time to inch forward is that some passengers cannot decide which flight they will take, if they're going to cancel or rebook, or if they want to re-route it to Timbukto or to God knows where. I'm really impatient when it comes to this, that's why I book my flights early to avoid panic, the uber-dreaded long lines and these inconsiderate creatures who take too much time on their turn not thinking about the seemingly mile queue behind them.

Homaygawd!!! The last thing I wanted right then is to re-route my flight or have it scheduled on Black Friday - that I'm sure only a few would be travelling. As luck would have it, they scheduled a special flight for tomorrow at 4PM. Yes, I really do want to protest. Why can't they make it at 4AM instead???!! I really wanna go home soooo badly huhuhu...

After the gruelling flight reschedule session, I went downstairs to claim my baggage. And there! I found them beside the conveyor looking like lost puppies waiting for their owners to get them. Finally, I managed to get home without any complication, thank God. While sitting on the cab I realized how exhausted I am, how famished and how this day has been soooo.......urrghh! never mind! I'm just glad the pizza that my roomate left last night was still on the table and I grabbed it without any word. Hahaayyy... Tomorrow is another day (a line from the commercial). And I hope it's going to be fine. I hope it's not going to rain in Forks. I hope my flight won't be cancelled or delayed. I hope to be home...