Cebu Pacific Cancels Bangkok to Clark (BKK-CRK) route

[TheGhostWithin]

Hi all,

just letting everyone who normally flys the Bangkok to Clark route (it was usually cheaper than flying into Manila due to the lower airport taxes and easier to access the north and mountain provinces) that this route has now been cancelled.

I booked in mid May during a sale, a few days (I suspect) before the route was cancelled. My credit card was charged and journey confirmed. The route was then cancelled in late May without notification (there is still no official announcement on this, however I had confirmation over the phone today from two separate Cebu offices) and my itinerary re-routed to Bangkok-Manila, with no ongoing transport to Clark from Manila.

I was told that I would not have been told as it was "too early", though when asking what my options were I was told I could re-book but to hurry, as the period I was travelling was over Christmas and many flights were already sold out. Flying into Manila (I originally intentionally avoided the chaos and intimidation of Manila International and the scamming which goes on right outside the main doors) and then having to arrange transport through to Clark just to begin my journey was too much to even consider.

At this stage I am now seeking a refund, which I am told will take 60 working days (12 weeks, or 3 months for those of us normal people). They certainly allowed me to book my seat a lot more quicker than that! Hopefully it comes through in the end, but heads up to anyone else who was looking to enjoy the Christmas celebrations in the north of the Phils.

[2planes3towers]

Thanks for reminding me, I got the notice four days ago for my flight and then promptly forgot about it.

A surprising development actually. Every time I've been on the flight it's been fully booked or close, despite the horrible midnight departure time (when leaving BKK).

That said, as bad as NAIA can be, there is a morning flight there out of BKK which is a lot easier to deal with, and the return flight from Clark would always arrive too late to take advantage of the Airport Link, so if the ultimate destination is somewhere in Bangkok you're stuck with the huge cab fare, offsetting whatever discount Cebu Pacific gave you. So it's a loss, but it's a loss I can deal with. For instance, my destination would usually be the Mountain Province, so I go by way of Baguio. Well, it's much nicer and faster to travel from Manila on Victory Liner's Deluxe bus which is non-stop with comfy seats and free cookies rather than grinding it out at Dau Bus Terminal and then when finally getting on the bus having to deal with the stopping every 500 ft to pick up vendors, lost dogs and highwaymen.

[cassde]

Why not use Tiger Airways from BKK to Clark or Tiger Air Philippines as they are now called. Modern planes run by SEAIR - good prices too - I use them when travelling to Angeles City.

[siam2007]

Why not use Tiger Airways from BKK to Clark or Tiger Air Philippines as they are now called. Modern planes run by SEAIR - good prices too - I use them when travelling to Angeles City.

The SEAIR and now re-branded as TigerAir Philippines - flights are most probably the reason why CEB stopped flying BKK - Clark.

They were usually at least double as expensive as Tiger. CEB had only 2 weekly flights anyway.

The truth is that absolutely nobody wants to fly to/from this miserable pathetic airport with very limited, overpriced and unpleasant options for onwards-travel. Except those few who want to stay in Angeles itself.

CEB is not alone - AirAsia stopped CLARK-Singapore just recently. they had already halted the Kota Kinabalu flights earlier.

Funny that Emirates decided to fly to Clark - that will be a bad awakening sooner or later, after they burned Millions of $$$

[TheGhostWithin]

Thanks for the suggestion with Tiger, I had looked at that and it should work out OK.

I go to the Dau terminal from Clark, and have a friend in the area and he is happy to drive me there for the price of a dinner and a catch up. The friend brings his neighbor (a nice Filipino guy) who helps me secure a good seat on a good bus, which usually gets me to my place of relaxation (Sagada) where I can enjoy hand made yogurt and fresh pancakes every morning, clean fresh air, and beautiful scenery.. a world away from the hustle and bustle of Manila.

I have cancelled my flight and been confirmed with a full refund which apparently will take 12 weeks to process, as I felt by the time I paid for cabs from NAIA (and possibly got scammed, as I have a 50% record of being so currently after 4 trips to the Phils), went over to Sampaloc terminal, waded through the hordes of passengers (last time, I had to even wait 30 minutes for a seat at the canteen inside the terminal) and got on board, the whole time guarding my bags to avoid pick pockets it just could not justify the extra 3000 baht charge (which actually only works out 1-2000 extra when you consider the extra cost of getting to/from NAIA and further north).

Cebu Pacific were fairly good about it, but I too was shocked they had cancelled the route as I had always observed the flights fairly well packed also.

[Amarke]

Cebu pacific are still booking flights for bkk to clk for this coming sat flight!!!????

[roadpeople]

Seem Tiger Air and Cebu Pacific become alliance now. The following messge popped up from the screen when booking on the website of Tiger Air. But the website did not really redirect to anywhere, even I clicked the "here" hyperlink. It stopped on the original Tiger Air website.

"Our Tigerair-Cebu Pacific strategic alliance offers you more travel options and seamless connections.

For flight bookings between Clark International Airport to Hong Kong / Bangkok, you will be redirected to Cebu Pacific's website in the next 10 seconds.

Or click here if you wish to go to the site now."

[canman]

Cebu Pacific - Nightmare online booking system

I had been warned about these clowns and would have flown Tiger except for the fact Tiger do not fly to Clark on the day I have to travel.

It took 3 attempts to complete the booking online. Once it timed out, the second time it froze at the payment stage.

Be warned that they do not let you upgrade your baggage allowance when you book and pay for the ticket. You have to purchase the ticket, then go to manage your booking and pay seperately for the baggage allowance upgrade entering all your credit card details again. After several failed attempts at upgrading my allowance I gave up and called them. Took a further 20 minutes on the phone to make it happen.

Total time to book a simple return airfare online 1hr 45 mins. Absolute garbage!

[OMGImInPattaya]

Cebu Pacific - Nightmare online booking system

I had been warned about these clowns and would have flown Tiger except for the fact Tiger do not fly to Clark on the day I have to travel.

It took 3 attempts to complete the booking online. Once it timed out, the second time it froze at the payment stage.

Be warned that they do not let you upgrade your baggage allowance when you book and pay for the ticket. You have to purchase the ticket, then go to manage your booking and pay seperately for the baggage allowance upgrade entering all your credit card details again. After several failed attempts at upgrading my allowance I gave up and called them. Took a further 20 minutes on the phone to make it happen.

Total time to book a simple return airfare online 1hr 45 mins. Absolute garbage!

Could just book on a real airline to MNL and hoof it to Angeles.