The cost of airline tickets especially for leisure can cause us a considerable amount of money. That is why promo airfares are real value savers.
To save cost, my sister and 3 of her friends decided to go to Hong Kong and availed of the promotion offered by Cebu Pacific. Early this month, they took their time to plan ahead with detailed daily itineraries as well. What they didn't expect was for their trip to be possibly cut short.
My sister left early Friday morning and is scheduled to return later tonight. Last night, I received an SMS from her telling me one of her companion's mom just passed away and they have to go back immediately. I contacted Cebu Pacific and inquired about rebooking my sister's flight. Here is what I learned:
Promo tickets are rebookable but with penalty. This means that change of date or time is allowed but charges will be applied. In this case, my sister was able to purchase her roundtrip ticket for Php5000 more or less. When asked how much it would take to rebook her return flight, the ticket center agent informed me that since the change will be made one day prior her departure from HK, she will have to pay Php5000 for the fee. Including the new ticket that she will be purchasing, she is to pay around Php12,000 overall.
Probably noticing my surprise, the agent offered this advice:
Forget about rebooking. Cancel the return flight and purchase a new return ticket. It was a better option because no rebooking fees will be paid. However, a new one would still cost Php11,000 if rounded up.
Eventually, the concerned party thought that it would be a shame to waste that much money. My sister and her other friends were there to support her no matter what and so they all decided to stick to their schedules.
In closing, I think promo fares are good for travelers, but the downside is that during emergencies, one just might end up spending more. Better be prepared for those kind of scenarios, I say.
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To save cost, my sister and 3 of her friends decided to go to Hong Kong and availed of the promotion offered by Cebu Pacific. Early this month, they took their time to plan ahead with detailed daily itineraries as well. What they didn't expect was for their trip to be possibly cut short.
My sister left early Friday morning and is scheduled to return later tonight. Last night, I received an SMS from her telling me one of her companion's mom just passed away and they have to go back immediately. I contacted Cebu Pacific and inquired about rebooking my sister's flight. Here is what I learned:
Promo tickets are rebookable but with penalty. This means that change of date or time is allowed but charges will be applied. In this case, my sister was able to purchase her roundtrip ticket for Php5000 more or less. When asked how much it would take to rebook her return flight, the ticket center agent informed me that since the change will be made one day prior her departure from HK, she will have to pay Php5000 for the fee. Including the new ticket that she will be purchasing, she is to pay around Php12,000 overall.
Probably noticing my surprise, the agent offered this advice:
Forget about rebooking. Cancel the return flight and purchase a new return ticket. It was a better option because no rebooking fees will be paid. However, a new one would still cost Php11,000 if rounded up.
Eventually, the concerned party thought that it would be a shame to waste that much money. My sister and her other friends were there to support her no matter what and so they all decided to stick to their schedules.
In closing, I think promo fares are good for travelers, but the downside is that during emergencies, one just might end up spending more. Better be prepared for those kind of scenarios, I say.
