Yesterday, I got an e-mail from a friend who is going to be visiting Mindanao. He asked that I keep the details of his request private, and this I am publishing this article without a name, but detailing my friend’s experiences of trying to travel during Philippine Airline’s current labor problems. Enjoy the article and the information.
I am sure you know about the recent and continuing problems with Phlippine Airlines Job action.
When I bought my tickets for this years visit to Mindanao I booked my Manila to Mindanao and return on Philippine Airlines as I did not know about the layoff and the job action that has followed causing PAL to alter, change, discontinue flights with little notice to passengers. The afternoon flight to Mindanao continues NOT to be shown on their daily updates and that is the flight I was booked on. They only show one morning flight to Mindanao that will be gone when I arrive at Manila.
The past several trips I have tried to fly Cebu Pacific from Manila to Mindanao but they would not accept USA issued credit or debit cards. Mine would not work and my travel agent tried his personal and business credit cards and Cebu Pacific would not accept those either, where PAL would accept all of them including my own.
Sure, I could probably arrive in Manila, stay overnight (at additional cost and wasting 1 day of my vacation in Mindanao) and by the time of my flight who knows what will be going on with PAL.
I tried booking a flight on Cebu Pacific via their website (seats and flights on Cebu are selling out FAST) As expected, Cebu Pacific would not process my online order with my USA issued credit card, but I don’t give up that easy!
If you remember, my USA issued Visa card does not work in the ATM’s in Mindanao and I have heard similar from other USA visitors to Mindanao. It works in some cities, but not all.
Last Year I got two ” Western Union ” pre-pay debit cards, one is Visa and the other Master Card. They worked in at least one ATM in the Gaisano Mall where my regular Visa card did not. I was able to get a Visa and a Master Card Western Union pre-pay debit card from Western Union.
By using my Visa Western Union pre pay debit card I was able to have my air ticket purchase on Cebu Pacific processed and confirmed! Bottom line Cebu Pacific cost to me is USD $159.44 Round trip Manila to Mindanao and return flight to Manila Intl. ( Ninoy Aquino International Airport ) including my 2 suit cases and 1 carry on. I know I might have to pay excess weight on my suit cases but that will not bother me LOL .
For the additional $159.44 to have a back up flight on Cebu if Philippine Airlines fails, it is worth that cost to me.
I will go with Cebu Pacific but I am still going to keep the Philippine Airlines tickets I have just in case. If Philippine Airlines continues having a job action problems who knows what could happen. I have read press reports already of ” equipment tampering ” by members of PALEA ground crew, need I say more ?
I am writing this to you just to inform you that flights and seats are selling out FAST on Cebu Pacific. If you know anyone coming to Mindanao on Philippine Airlines in the next 30 days or so it might be worthwhile getting tickets on Cebu Pacific while they are still available! If those from outside the Philippines have difficulty using foreign credit cards with Cebu Pacific I have informed you how I got around that with my Western Union pre-paid VISA Debit card!
I made the transaction with Cebu Air website about 3 hours ago and I confirmed the purchase and my reservation on the phone with them just to make sure everything went thru OK, and according to them, it did!
This has been one of my “convenience over Cost ” stratagies LOL. I don’t want to worry from now til then if I an going to be stranded in Manila by Philippine Airlines. By the time I get there flights on Cebu Pacific or any other domestic carriers might be Sold OUT ! I’d rather spend the $159.44 now for back up flight tickets than spend it on Asprin or other headache reliever later!
I hope this info will be helpful to you or others who you may hear from concerning flights on Philippine Airlines now or for the immediate future.
I usually travel with Cebu Pacific as I really don’t like PAL and in the past I have prepaid with 100% success booking and paying with a USA debit and credit card but that was while in the Philippines and not originating from the USA. I was charged $7.00 by Cebu Pacific but it went through. Maybe things have changed but it makes no sense. More recently for my upcoming trip to the PI , I am having a friend over there buy my tickets for me in advance as they look for promos and I am flexible + or – a couple of days.
Hi, first time commenting on an article here, but an avid reader and vistor to this site. I have been to the Philippines 7 times now and have never had an issue using my credit/debit cards, especially when purchasing flight tickets through Cebu Pacific or PAL. What I have done is to let my credit card bank know that I will be in the Philippines during certain times this way when I use the card it wont get blocked because of their security protocals, basically stopping any purchase to be made from my card, because they would think it was stolen. I think this is more prevalent when traveling to third world countries, but it is always good to let the credit card company know that it will be you using it when going anywhere on an overseas trip. If you should loose the card while overseas, you can call and let them know so no further charges are incur on the credit/debit card.
I had the same problem, Cebu Pacific wouldn’t take my credit card. I had to wire money to relatives to buy tickets. My wife and kids are coming next week to visit relatives and for the kids to experience their first Christmas in the Philippines.
Bob,
Last week, I had to fly to Seuol on business. I had booked a ticket on PAL a couple of weeks earlier through our companies travel agent. My flight was to leave on Wed at 2pm.
On Tuesday (day of typhoon), while I was reading Inquirer, I read that PAL was having a strike and all flights were cancelled that day. That was a shock as no one gave me any notice, but given the travel agent is in the building, I went down and asked will PAL be flying on Wed. The agent said the strike is only on Tuesday and this is a regular occurence. your flight is safe for Wed (of course) and too much trouble to rebook on another flight.
Wed morning, am in the office so go down to agent at 10am and she confirmed that flights are running so I go home and take taxi at 11am to go to airport. Halfway to airport, I get a call telling me flight is cancelled. I was pissed and demanded to place on any flight to Seoul. The Asiana had a flight at noon, but the agent failed to notify me on time. So in the end I had to catch the midnight flight to arrive at 5am and at hotel by 6:30 for a 9:00 meeting. I was tired but at least KAL is one of the best airlines.
I blame both the agent for not advising me to fly PAL when I asked on Tuesday as well as PAL employees for striking and causing so much grief for their customers. In this day and age, unions are running out of reasons for existance. Plenty of people in Philippines would jump at a chance to work at PAL, even if its one of the 3 3rd party servicers.
My experience on PAL (on business class and coach) has never compared to any of the other airlines in SE Asia. Both airplane comfort, food/service and overall experience is second rate. Plus the biz class ticket was actually more expensive than KAL.
May ask why I fly PAL, but I have a home in Hawaii and PAL is one of two airlines that fly there so am attempting to accrue miles for free trip or upgrade.
If your flight is urgent, do not fly PAL. Agents at my company have now given notice that PAL is unreliable and not to book unless no choice.
Lesson learned, do not fly PAL.
Is the situation with Cebu Pacific and USA issued credit cards a recent development? I paid with my USA issued card last year for 4 tickets Manila to Davao round trip with no problems.
This is a tough topic when it comes to things like this. I guess there are arguments on both sides for the Union strikes but in a country where many people earn like $2.00 a day maybe there is some cause. There is great exploitation of workers in the Philippines. Until we have all the facts maybe we should give the workers a break. The Philippines for all the love we have for it with $5.00 massages, $20 hotels, cheap this and that and of course smiles and friendlines, all comes on the backs of overworked and expolited workers. There is terrible abuse in homes and the Church (yes I truly hate the Church) is the biggest exploiter of all using guilt and perpetuating ignorance as a weapon. This all makes me very sad. When I hear about Bob’s annual charitable drive at the Holidays it puts a smile on my face. I have underwritten the education for many children there and that is what I foucs on. Anyway , just my opinion but I think Bob is much nicer to Filipinos than any Filipino is to his own race who is not a relative. Frankly, if it weren’t for OFW’s bringing in billions of dollars annually I can assure you no one would be going to the Philippines as it would make Yemen or Somalia look like paradise. 30 years of visitation to the PI has earned me the right to speak like this.
To be clear on my last post was in response to Dons and I was just suggesting to Don to give the workers a break and be more understanding of things like the strike. I know it s..ks to be on the cancelled side of a flight but put yourself in their shoes. My comment regarding Bob was just a reflection that oftentimes expats have more compassion for people in the Philippines than Filipinos have for each other. I know I do and at least a dozen others that give in many ways. Just remember $2.00 a day. I spend more than that on my daily coffee!!!
I have no problems with supporting unions for safety reasons and/or minimum standards of living. I have not heard anyone complaining that flight crews and staff at PAL are paid too little. Management at PAL made a business decision to use 3rd party servicing for certain things such as meal service. The 3rd party offered to hire people, but probably not all as PAL was inefficient at providing this service.
Almost all major carriers outsource such functions. If the airline is not allowed to make a business decision due to threat of strike, they will go bankrupt as costs are too high. Especially as the skies are open and other carriers fly into NAIA at this time and at lower cost.
Unions will bring down PAL through bankruptcy and force govt to nationalize their flag carrier. How does this help the common workers?
It would be rare for anybody to make $2 per day here in the Philippines. The minimum wage in most parts of the Philippines is more like P300/day, which would be about $7 per day. Yes, some make less than the minimum wage, but $2 per day would be quite rare these days.
hi bob,
paul may be citing a different statistic from some studies that say, most pinoys live on less than $2 a day (less than P100). very true.
cheers,
Perhaps, Biz Doc. But he did say that Filipinos earn $2 per day.. “earn” and “live on” are quite different.
Well, in the air, they’ve always been OK, in my experience. On the ground has always been a different matter entirely. PAL’s largest customer base has always been returning OFWs, and if this action goes on too long, they will run themselves out of business entirely.
Personally, I’ve always flown them as a last choice, normally only if they offer a nonstop flight somewhere that is either fully booked or unavailable on other airlines. Don is also correct in that they are not always the cheapest alternative.
Until they get this situation resolved, they remain on my “no fly” list.
As to Cebu Pacific, I had credit card problems with them, but for the last year or so, things have been OK… I’ve flown them a few times over the last year and, honestly, the service was OK… My feeling towards them has improved immensely.
Philippine Airlines is quite often referred to as ” The nations flag carrier. Although unnoficial, the USA flag carrier for decades was Pan-AM . From all of this and past management and labor discrepency with Philippine Airlines I wonder if PAL will go the same way as Pan-Am did.
Notice the similarity ? They both have the same initials too !
“P”hil “A’ir , “P”an “A”m
My travel agent has told me many times over the past few years, just about all of the airlines are beating themselves into the ground by trying to offer the lowest possible fare for tickets to compete with each other. It is too bad that at times it is not only the flying public that looses, but airline employees end up loosing as well.
Actually the term “FLAG Carrier” as it is used in official jargon, is meant to signify an International Carrier with Registration in the country that is symbolized by the flag at or near their tail structure.
NATIONAL Carrier is what is more correctly meant when referring to a Nationalized Government owned or Government Majority owned Airline.
Most folks still use the term for PAL since it used to be the National Carrier of the Philippines until Lucio Tan bought out the majority shares.
I know all of this because I work for United Airlines and have been there for over 25 years.
WOW! I hope things will be back to normal by the 20th of the month. I am do to arrive there and my flight was booked all the way to Davao using PAL from Manila to Davao.
Just flew to Hong Kong via Cebu Air, Paid with my debit Mastercard No Problem.. Never had a problem with the airline….However when I bought a ticket with my credit card for my wife on Air Philliphines from Manila to Davao she had no trouble from Manila but on returning from Davao they would not let her board, she had copies of my drivers license the credit card used my social security card and acr card..They said maybe my card was fake…Needless to say the shit hit the wall when I called them..They agreed to a refund and 40 days later now still have not received credit…
I just bought tickets on Cebu Pacific a few weeks ago using a US issued credit card, no problem. I wonder whether it may be rejecting it because it’s detecting that you’re logging on from outside the Philippines, rather than where the credit card is issued. Might try going through a local proxy server, or if there’s someone here in the Phils who you trust with your credit card numbers, get them to do it for you, and see if that works.
I have to agree with JohnM about PAL — the flight crews have always treated us very well, but the ground operations, always pleasant and polite, but often not very helpful. We arrived at Manila once just after a pilot strike had started, and the PAL folks had zero interest in helping us find alternate transport or accommodations, we wound up going to the port on our own and taking a boat to Davao (which I highly recommend). Also hurtling through space at 600 mph in an aluminum tube operated and maintained by a bunch of employees who are angry about their working conditions doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Jack
Travelling back from Mindanao and onto the PAL terminal 3. We noticed protesters last week. We also knew of the strike/walk out and all. The philippine airlines from memory did not advise us of any delays…. but did write on their website of which domestic flights are cancelled until further notice..
Mine was an international flight and it was still on schedule. What they did not tell us was that the people that were checking us in, are not fully trained with the PAL systems. The staff were borrowed from other airlines / terminal because they didn’t know where things were in terminal 3… .. it took about 20-30 minutes for each one of us to get checked in…..they also opened at normal time (I was there much earlier because I knew there was a walk out, thought I’d be smart to get in there early…… er.. I stood more hours than I should have… grr)
My expereince is in the province not the cities are as follows and this as as recent as this year:
1500p a month for live in helpers
3000p for live in yayas
3500 to 7000p for shop employees
3000 for hotel/resort workers
8000 to 10000 for teachers
of course some make higher and some make lower. But the notion of a working enforced minimum wage of 300p a day I think is pure fantasy
Hi Paul – But, out of all the wages you quoted, every one of them is more than $2/day, except for the live in helper. Remember, the live in helper gets more than a salary – they get a place to live, 3 meals per day, etc. $2 per day would be P1,860 per month.
Yes you are correct. I was meaning 200p a day. Thanks for clearing that up for me that but you would have to agree that many people are being paid under the minimum and without benefits. Talking about benefits how about the common place act of not hiring full time employees just to avoid paying benefits but in reeality they are full time employees. The employer keeps them on for five plus months then fires them to avoid paying them benefits and then take them back for another five months after a one month layoff.
No Problem, Paul. Yes, your observations are right on about benefits and such. Generally, though, it’s not legal for an employer to re-hire for another 5 months.
Well done,Bob!
I had the 819 flight out of Manila at 4:30 am on the 20th which is the Airbus 330 going to Davao and pal has cancelled that flight. I have been re-booked on the 9:00 am flight 811. I guess they are canceling the early flight and putting the passengers on the 811 flight which is the Boeing 747. This way they can fill up the larger aircraft. I guess it makes since with employee shortage.
Art
When most of my co-workers fly to the Philippines, they take airlines other than PAL, if possible. They mention the high costs, restrictions, and plane maintenance among issues they have with PAL. I’ve never had any issue with PAL, but I don’t fly to the Philippines that often. Those who I know that do often go Hawaiian or some other airline.
FYI folks,
PAL Inc is a Backronym: Plane Always Late If Not Cancelled.
$2.50 is the share price of American Airlines.
That is two dollars and fifty cents!!!
To me that looks like the end of the line for them.
Philippines Airlines will follow in less than 5 years from now.
Flying here to Palawan at 50% to 75% capacity will eventually get them into trouble.