MANILA, Philippines - When Cebu Pacific (CEB) pioneered its “low fare, great value” strategy in 1996, it helped turn the travel dreams of millions of Filipinos into reality. Now, 14 years later, the airline has already flown over 40 million travelers to more than 46 local and international destinations, thanks to its innovative pricing and operational systems.
“Our goal is to provide leisure and business travelers more opportunities to travel,” shares Candice Iyog, CEB vice president for marketing and distribution. “There are a lot of low-cost carriers in the market that aim to do the same, but as a Filipino company, we distinguish ourselves by striving to offer innovations that are relevant to our passengers’ lives. We always consider the values of Filipinos — what they need, what they want, and what’s essential to them when they travel.”
With one out of every two Filipinos flying with CEB, the airline is regarded not just as a high-quality, low-cost carrier, but also as the number one airline in the Philippines.
New conveniences
Recently, the airline introduced the Travel Fund, a service that allows customers to store the value of unused tickets for exchange within 90 days. This assures passengers of more convenience and ease when making flight changes.
The unused amount is automatically stored in a virtual system — at no cost to the passenger — when there are flight disruptions such as cancellations and delays of six hours or more. Meanwhile, those who voluntarily cancel their flights can also avail themselves of the Travel Fund, minus voluntary cancellation fees.
Passengers with flight schedules affected by the weather and other events beyond the control of the airline can also avail themselves of the Travel Fund.
Apart from this, the Travel Fund gives flyers increased flexibility should they simply want to transfer the value of their unused bookings to another person, thanks to the name change option (for a fee).
Need to rebook more than one cancelled or rescheduled flight? No problem, as several Travel Funds can also be combined to make one booking.
“Through the Travel Fund, low-cost flying will become an even more convenient alternative, as passengers will have more flexibility with their low-cost travel,” says Iyog.
Innovative tradition
The Travel Fund is just the latest milestone in the company’s ongoing product and service enhancements. It was the first airline to introduce e-ticketing, prepaid excess baggage and seat selection in the Philippines, and the only airline with “fun games.”
“Our service culture is anchored on providing Filipino travelers the best value flights,” explains Iyog. “For us, this means constantly studying the best business models and finding ways to customize them to our passengers’ needs.”
The airline also innovates in terms of socially responsible practices. CEB is the only airline in the ASEAN region with a climate adaptation program. With the World Wildlife Fund, it launched “Bright Skies for Every Juan,” giving passengers the opportunity to help fund, through the CEB website, a climate adaptation program in the municipality of Sablayan where the Apo Reef is located.
“Enabling and empowering everyone to fly is a very big undertaking,” says Iyog, “but it’s worth all the hard work to be able to bring positive and meaningful travel experience to today’s Filipinos.”