(SPOT.ph) Imagine this: You and your special someone stayed up late to score promo fares to the most romantic destination you can think of. Never mind that it's 10 months from now. It's going to be great, you promised each other. Nine months later, the holiday getaway might not be so great because you just broke up and flying to your favorite city with your ex is too awkward to handle. With Cebu Pacific's newest product called CEB Flexi, you don't have to waste a booked flight. You can just reschedule your trip, enjoy your newfound independence, and eat-pray-love your way out of that heartbreak. This add-on feature will be available on Cebu Pacific's website and mobile application starting on October 22.
"One of the things that we picked up is that every time we have [seat sales], we receive feedback from our customers saying that they feel that there are certain things that are out of your control," Cebu Pacific Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience Candice Iyog said in a press conference on October 16.
The airline usually offer travel deals that are way ahead of time. Their latest promo fare on October 10, for example, is for trips from April to August in 2020. Between these months, there are a lot of things that can happen: running out of vacation leaves, your visa not getting approved, a friend flaking on your trip, and—yes, breakups.
Sure, you can rebook your flights for fees ranging from P1,500 to P2,800 for one-way domestic route. It’s even cheaper to just buy a new flight and put the advanced booking—which you got for less—to waste. That’s thousands of pesos down the drain.
“CEB Flexi is an option that we are giving our passengers to avail at the initial booking,” Iyog explained. This add-on, which ranges from P499 to P1,099, allows you to rebook your flight to a different date (but still the same route) without penalties. You can do this for up to two times, and all you have to pay is the fare difference. The rebooking fee is discounted up to 60%. It’s available to promo and regular fare bookings on and after October 22. You can even rebook your flight up to two hours before your scheduled departure—a good thing if you have friends that flake out on the last minute.
You can find the CEB Flexi button along with Cebu Pacific's other products like CEBprepaid baggage, CEBmeals, and CEB surfboard on the add-on page after you’ve selected your flight route and date. To avail of your previously purchased feature later on, you can just log on to Cebu Pacific’s website with your Booking Reference Number through the “Manage Booking” option. It provides a “peace of mind” for “certain uncertainties,” Iyog said.
The vice president also added that this service is the first of its kind in the country. “We’re very happy about this because it’s one of those products that we didn’t develop on our own. It was actually a product that we developed with the customer in mind, and together with the customer, and was validated with them. It’s collaborative.” She was referring to the 5,000-strong focus group of frequent flyers that the company is in contact with to exchange ideas and give feedback.
“You can expect that there will be more of these kinds of products and services because we’re working more and more with our customers, to understand their journey and pain points,” Iyog concluded.
CEB Flexi will be available on Cebu Pacific's website and mobile application starting on October 22.
Main photo by Justin Groep, Unsplash
