Terminal 3 and Cebu Pacific

When I booked our Cebu Pacific ticket to Manila, I was excited because we'll be arriving at the newly opened Terminal 3. I heard it was huge and nicer compared to NAIA Terminal 1. I made sure to bring the camera so I can take pictures of the place.

However when we arrived in Manila, it was 5AM and we were very tired and groggy from lack of sleep. I didn't have the energy to pull out my camera and to look around. I decided to let it go. I have another chance to take pictures when we depart for KL, I thought.

And so I was excited last Sunday when we entered the airport. Wow, there were several rows of check-in counters. It looked like the check-in counters in Singapore although smaller. But definitely much better than compared to NAIA terminal 1.

As I was about to take out our camera, I remembered we needed some cash to pay for the travel tax. So I took my wallet instead. Hubby proceeded to line up for check-in while EJ and I went to look for the ATMs. I found two but both were offline. I asked the guards if there were other ATMs around. He told me, there were two more ATMs in the arrival hall but both were offline too. Okay, so I asked, where is the nearest ATM around. The guard said the nearest ones are in Baclaran! Whaaat?!?!

I started to panic. I know we should have been ready with cash but I thought if terminal 1 has ATMs, surely the new airport must have too. I thought it was just logical. But then, logic doesn't work all the time.

So we had no choice but to go out and look for an ATM. Hubby went outside (he went all the way to Baclaran) while EJ and I stayed behind the check-in queue. I guess I was expecting too much from this new airport. I thought it was at par with the airports in KL and Singapore. It was such a disappointment.

It turned out we were not the only passengers with the same dilemna. Another family (foreigners) didn't have enough cash too. They couldn't withdraw money and the department of tourism (which collects the travel tax) doesn't accept credit card for payment. What a bummer, right? I don't know what happened. The people at Cebu Pacific were scrambling to their feet to help.

I thought it was our only problem.

Hubby arrived just in time for our check-in. While waiting for the boarding pass, I asked the guy at the counter what our seat numbers are. He said, 14 A, B and C. I told him, we have changed our seats to 3 A, B, C online because seat 14 is not allowed for babies. So why would he still give me row 14 when it is not allowed for babies? He said, all the other seats were taken already. How could it be? And even if it was, then was it okay for us to take row 14? We would have taken row 14 anytime because of the extra leg room. Clearly the guy doesn't understand what he was doing. He checked his monitor again and said he can give us 2 seats in row 3 but one of us will have to sit on row 4. It would have been okay if we were not travelling with a baby. But we were, so the three of us couldn't be separated. The reason we booked online and pay extra for the seats was to make sure we all sit in one row together. It would give us some space when EJ sleeps. The guy then said: "I cannot do anything about it. If you want, you can talk to my supervisor over there." Then he gave us our ticket. At this point hubby was more than irritated already. He said, why do we have to go there, can you just ask your supervisor to come here instead? I think he got scared and said, okay sir I'll go and talk to my supervisor.

While waiting for the guy to come back, the passengers on the other check-in counter had problems too. They were told that there were NO more seats available. The passengers (a group of three) were fuming mad. How could it have happened? They booked online too and their tickets were confirmed. But when they checked-in, they were told, there were no more seats available. It seemed that Cebu Pacific was overbooked!

After almost 15 minutes, the guy came back to us and gave us our seats at 3 A, B and C. I thought that was the end of our problems. But wait, there's more.

When we were on our way to the boarding lounge, an announcement boomed over that the flight will be delayed for 35 minutes. I anticipated this already. I asked a Cebu Pacific staff what's the reason behind the delay. He confirmed that the flight to KL was indeed overbooked and they are sorting out the problem.

Anyway, when we finally boarded the plane and settled on our seats, a passenger came over to claim his seat on 3B. By this time, everything seemed funny already. I wasn't pissed anymore. So we called the stewardess. I don't know if the passenger was given a seat considering the flight was overbooked. But there was no way we would give up EJ's seat. He paid full price too.

So that was our first experience with a Cebu Pacific International flight and the newly opened Terminal 3. I mentioned in my previous post that I will still fly Cebu Pacific if I am flying without a toddler. But after this, I am not sure if I would fly with them anymore. I guess we'll just save up for our future trip back home.