Cebu Pacific scraps rebooking fee to win back confidence of flyers

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s leading budget airline, Cebu Pacific, is permanently allowing unlimited rebooking for flights in a bid to boost sales during the downturn in aviation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The removal of the so-called change fees is “critical in restoring passenger confidence in air travel,” Cebu Pacific said on Tuesday.

A company survey also confirmed this, said Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and customer experience.

“We are removing our change fee effective immediately,” Iyog said in a statement.

“As we work on rebuilding our network and supporting domestic tourism, we will continue to listen to our passengers so we can make it even more convenient for every juan to fly again,” she added.

Although passengers will no longer pay a fee to rebook their flights, Cebu Pacific said they could still be subjected to “minimal fare differences.”

The announcement coincides with Cebu Pacific’s 25th founding anniversary and as it begins a crucial share sale to bolster its balance sheet during the global health crisis.

The P12.5-billion rights offer of parent company Cebu Air Inc. involves convertible preferred shares and starts from March 3 through March 9 this year.

This was also part of a larger business transformation program involving adjustments to its workforce, fleet size and network.

Cebu Pacific previously said the preferred shares would pay a dividend rate of 6 percent per annum while the conversion price was set at P38 per share.

The company’s shareholders will be entitled to one convertible share for every 1.825 shares held.

ac