Amalia Fuentes files P400,000 damage suit vs airline

Veteran actress Amalia Fuentes is seeking P400,000 in damages from a foreign airline company for allegedly failing to fulfill its commitment to issue all the flight tickets she purchased for a European group trip eight years ago.

Fuentes, Amanda Stevens in real life, lamented that she was also humiliated whenever she followed up her claim with Air France Philippines.

She charged that the officers of Air France treated her poorly as she demanded the release of three tickets she had paid for, as well as a Paris-Manila round-trip reward ticket the company promised her for her group tour in Europe.

"Many times they were giving me shabby treatment," Fuentes told Judge Lydia Querubin Layosa during yesterday’s pre-trial hearing before the Quezon City regional trial court Branch 217.

In a seven-page lawsuit, Fuentes said that despite written and oral demands, Air France did not release the three tickets meant for her husband, son and brother-in-law.

It was in May 1998, she said, when she purchased 16 flight tickets for a group tour of Europe with family and friends.

Fuentes said she personally paid for 11 of the 16 tickets amounting to P602,118 for family members. However, the company did not release three of the tickets.

During yesterday’s hearing, Fuentes, assisted by her lawyer Trinia Nieva, testified that in exchange for the European tour, Air France promised to give her a reward round-trip economy flight ticket, a common policy among airlines for customers booking 10 or more seats.

Eduardo Jose, the former Manila office sales manager, made the commitment in writing, she said.

In the course of her travel with her daughter and grandchildren, Fuentes said they were not able to use a portion of their flight to Paris because of a strike that hit the company, leaving them stranded for almost a month in Oslo, Norway.

Fuentes narrated that she spent her own money to pay for taxi fare and hotel accommodation while waiting for Air France to endorse them to another company for them to complete the tour.

However, she said the company completely ignored their plight.

Upon returning to Manila, Fuentes said she coordinated with the company to claim the three undelivered tickets including the reward round-trip ticket, but it did not honor the commitment made by their officers.

"Because of the humiliation and shabby treatment from their office I decided to pay P200,000 for the services of a lawyer," Fuentes said.

Aside from lawyer’s fee, Fuentes is also seeking P200,000 in moral and exemplary damages and to pay her the actual cost of the suit. — Perseus Echeminada