⌛ PAL or CP

which one is better?? Philippine Airline or Cebu Pacific??

 

Since the pictured aircraft are both the same model of Airbus, it is really hard to decide, missglenna.

Has Rhoody set you up for this, knowing that I will eventually reply, so that he might slay me with one of his mighty rejoinders?

Seriously, it all depends on which carrier best satisfies your travel needs. In our case, an identical aircraft type, operated by competing carriers, serves the same city pair with twice daily service to and from DGT, to roughly identical schedules.

Price depends on the current discounted offering and that varies from day to day.

Many of us attempt to book on the internet to take advantage of the best prices. Hands down, PAL wins this contest. Rhoody and I are agreed on that. I've complained bitterly in the past over the difficulty of making a Cebu Pacific booking. They are vastly improving. They are NOT there yet.

On the other hand, try redeeming an E-ticket issued by PAL if it is no longer required. Good luck!

I'll give Cebu Pacific a compliment for an effective and hands-on management style for solving problems at the local level. I'll also qualify that by adding that the problem solved was of the carrier's own creation.

I'll continue to prefer Cebu Pacific because its service to Cebu four times a week best meets my most frequent transportation need. On Monday, Anne and I will even venture all the way to Tacloban.

I'm starting to look at Cebu Pacific's other routes, via Cebu, as an alternate to the eternal bus ride to which one is otherwise subjected. Bacolod and Iloilo are possibilities which quickly come to mind. Curses upon Superferry for eliminating its very romantic overnight ferry service between Bacolod and Dumaguete.

Look at the map. The Philippines is an archipelago. STOL aircraft service, such as that offered by Cebu Pacific to numerous destinations is an obviously good idea. We're lucky to be in the middle. Cebu Pacific, with its principal hub in Cebu is ideally situated to capitalize on these possibilities. Its fleet of ATR aircraft is an ideal tool to satisfy the requirement. They are powerful, fast and have sufficient seating and capacity to fill the bill. I'm astonished (as a Canadian with a strong transportation background) that STOL service to numerous destinations is not already firmly established.

The biggest strength which we enjoy in Dumaguete is the benefit of competing carriers. I hope that the market is big enough for both. We should all applaud that!

 

Looking at the 2 websites for PAL and CP, and testing the same dates to fly roundtrip MNL-DGT and depending on the day of the week you fly, CP is cheaper, but some days PAL is cheaper, and depending how far you book your flight plays a factor, so for me I would definitely plan it out, looks like weds are cheaper on PAL Mnl-Dgt flights.

https://onlinebooking.philippineair...Result.do?followAction=AirLowFareSearchAction

SkySales

 

I don't even read anything of the thread but simply EVERYTHING is better than
Cebu Pathetic.

PAL wins in absolutely everything. Just the Duma Cebu route is missing yet.

I just let a ticket go and stay a day longer in one place during my trip through the PI that I can use another airline.

Cebu Pathetic is insane and ridiculous. I rather go with a trike from MNL back to Duma instead of flying with them...

 

C'mon Rhoody - tell us how you really feel - stop sitting on the fence!

By the way, how long does it take the trike to get from Manila to Dgte?:D

 

cebu pathetic...hahahahhaah

thank you for flying philippine airlines!!!

 

A320 is too risky for dgt runway.... it's too short. i just hope pal will fly 3 times daily...

 

Cepu Pacific Is The Worst Of All Airlines

I have flown numerous airlines during the past 40+ years of travel and there is no doubt in my mind who is the worst of all - Cepu Pacific. Customer Service is not in their vocabulary and they have demonstrated that to me many times. One good example is when I was going down the ramp to board the flight from Manila to Dumaguete recently. Instead of boarding the aircraft at the end of the ramp, the passengers were put on a bus and taken to another plane. Once there, we were told to stay on the bus because the flight was cancelled due to bad weather in Dumaguete (which was not true and proven by the fact that Philippine Airlines made the trip with no issues). Once back in the terminal it was utter chaos as upset passengers demanded assistance from the CP staff which we did not get - no food allowance or hotel vouchers. Just a very long line at the Rebooking Counter. I rebooked a seat on another CP flight but on the way to Manila Airport I received a call from CP advising me that this flight was also cancelled. When I asked for the reason I was told that "we cannot tell you". Once again they would not assist and food or lodging. I cancelled my ticket with CP and flew home on Philippine Airlines and will continue to use PA regardless of any higher ticket price they may have - at least they fly!! CP does not want to admit that they are having many mechanical problems with their planes so they use "Bad Weather" as an excuse. That is a much better reason in terms of "PR" and also allows them not to pay for a passengers hotel and food expense when they cannot take off. My advice - for your safety and sanity avoid CP at all cost!

 

I really hate posting on this thread as each time I do so it makes a new argument for my friend Rhoody. Sigh!

So, last week Annabelle and I deploy to Tacloban via Cebu. There is a stopover of several hours duration in Cebu. No problem as Annabelle has business there, as do I. So, at check-in at DGT, we try to check our bags through to Tacloban. No deal, we are told as our tickets are on different passenger name records. We argue. CP station manager insists. I point out that purchase is end on end ticketing - no big deal. CP station manager insists. He directs us to sort it out in Cebu, suggesting that it will not be a problem there. Skeptical, I reluctantly agree. Fortunately, our bags are tagged as TRANSFER, (which I did not notice until arrival at Cebu). Naturally, the Transfer Point in Cebu is unattended. The "no problem" now is one. We drag the bags upstairs and attempt to check-in again. The Cebu agent, quite naturally, does not want to check passengers in @ 1000 for a 1600 departure. I insist and point out that our baggage has been tagged as TRANSFER. We argue. I insist and the baggage is accepted.

Bottom line: CP is yet again successful at solving a problem which it has created in the first place!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

So we happy travellers now wish to return to Cebu. No big deal, really. The Tacloban airport is small and crowded. We wait for our flight to be called, in its turn. Finally, the boarding announcement is made that boarding will be by rows, with rows 1-5 called. As we are seated in row 15, we settle in. Nothing happens. We wait patiently. Finally we are paged by name as a final call. I guess boarding by row number was abandoned somewhere along the line. We are hurriedly ushered to our seats and depart.

Bottom line: CP is yet again successful at solving a problem which it has created in the first place!

Still the price is right and the CP connection @ Cebu opens a whole realm of possibilities not easily matched at present by PAL.

 

that's exactly what I mean,

bottom line: there is absolutely NOTHING which works with Cebu Pathetic without insisting arguing and discussing, It is absolutely insane and ridiculous.

Thanks for agreeing on that... :p