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MANILA – The Civil Aeronautics Board buckled to pressure from airlines, toning down two orders meant to protect consumers from unfair industry practices.
Days before they take effect, CAB modified its Resolutions 28 and 29, allowing carriers to overbook and introducing “very strict conditions” before a ticket is refunded or rebooked.
The two orders were supposed to take effect June 15.
Eldric Paul Peredo, CAB acting board secretary, said carriers would be allowed to overbook up to five percent, or lower than the 10 percent international standard.
Resolution 28 originally prohibited overbooking, but airlines said they overbook flights in anticipation of no-show passengers.
As for Resolution 29, which allows refunds and rebooking of flights, CAB amended its order by requiring a passenger to voluntarily cancel 24 hours before their flight.
Failure to rebook a flight within 24 hours, a passenger would be slapped certain fees.
Promo tickets of low-cost carriers usually are non-rebookable and non-refundable.
"The clarificatory resolutions would be out on Monday. We just need to have them officially signed, although the thrust of the meeting today was really to clarify certain matters based on our hearings of the motions for reconsideration of the airlines," Peredo said.
"We are aligning our resolutions with the thrust of the passenger bill of rights, which will be heard on Friday," he said.
"For now, the overbooking, non-refundability and non-rebookability are still suspended," he added.
Data from CAB showed that consumers filed 81 complaints last year, higher than the 77 in 2010. In the first quarter of this year, CAB received 21 complaints.
Of the total number of complaints, 45 percent pertained to demands for a refund; 14 percent, unfair practices/negligence of personnel; 10 percent, cancelled flights; seven percent, delayed flights, denied boarding or lost luggage; and three percent, misleading advertisement.
Cebu Pacific, Zest Airways, Southeast Asian Airlines and Philippines Air Asia raised a howl over Resolutions 28 and 29, claiming these rules would upset the business model of LCCs.
They warned that the new rules would push up ticket prices, thus eroding industry growth as well as the government’s tourism targets.
In a petition, Cebu Air Inc. said Resolution 29, which orders domestic carriers to allow refunds and rebooking of tickets, is inconsistent with Republic Act No. 776 and Executive Order No. 219.
The operator of Cebu Pacific said the CAB order violates the equal protection clause as foreign carriers, which also offer non-refundable and non-rebookable tickets, are not covered by the new directive.
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