Push Admin

CAB chief suggests cap on overbooking flights

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Travelers line up at airline counters to process their travel documents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City on June 9, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/06/14/20230609-naia-t3-crowd-jc-11.jpg"/><figcaption>Travelers line up at airline counters to process their travel documents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City on June 9, 2023. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — The head of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) on Friday suggested bringing back a cap on overbooking flights. </p><p>Overbooking is a &quot;global practice&quot; wherein airlines sell more seats than the capacity of the aircraft. After a cap on the practice was removed, airlines were required by the passenger bill of rights to offer compensation and shoulder the hotel and food expenses of volunteers who give up their seats on overbooked flights, noted CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla. </p><p>&quot;Iyon ay magiging disincentive sa isang airline para abusuhin ang overbooking,&quot; he said in a televised public briefing. </p><p>&quot;Ganunpaman...itong bill of rights na ito, joint administrative order ng DOTr at saka ng Department of Trade and Industry. So, para sa akin, bukod doon sa counterweight na may compensation that will discourage abuse of overbooking ay iminumungkahi ko rin na magkaroon ulit ng cap,&quot; he added. </p><p>(This is a disincentive for airlines against abusing overbooking. However, the bill of rights is a joint administrative order. So for me, aside from the counterweight of compensation that will discourage abuse of overbooking, I suggest that there should be a cap again.)</p><p>The Senate this week started investigating numerous passenger complaints against local airlines and flight experiences. </p><p>A global supply chain disruption that delays aircraft orders, spare parts and repairs has forced airlines to &quot;downgrade&quot; or use smaller aircraft for flights which were supposed to use bigger airplanes, Arcilla said. </p><p>With the aircraft downgrade, some passengers chosen randomly would not be able to board their original flight, he said. </p><p>&quot;Sa amin pong inisyal na pagsusuri ay hindi po ito ang tinatawag na overbooking. Kasi ang overbooking po ay may patakaran na kailangang mai-check-in ka at doon sa boarding gate, doon magkakaalam kung ilan iyong overbooked seats, ilan iyong kailangang volunteer – iyan po ang tinatawag na overbooking,&quot; Arcilla said. </p><p>(In our initial investigation, this is not the so-called overbooking. In cases of overbooking, you should still be allowed to check in at the boarding gate, informed of how many seats are overbooked, and how many volunteers are needd.)</p><p>&quot;Ngayon, kung ang ginawa po ng airline ay talagang in-overbook tapos biglang sinabihan iyong mga tao na &#x27;Hindi kayo makakasakay,&#x27; ay iligal po iyan at parurusahan natin. Pero iyong hindi pa po natin alam ang final na finding pero ang lumalabas po, na ang pangyayari po ay iyong downgrading ng aircraft,&quot; he added. </p><p>(But if what the airline overbooked a flight and told passengers, &quot;No you cannot board&quot;, that is illegal and we will punish that. We don&#x27;t know the final findings yet, but it appears for now that what is happening is aircraft downgrading.) </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/06/22/23/cebu-pacific-philippine-airlines-adopt-measures-to-minimize-flight-disruptions">Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines adopt measures to minimize flight disruptions</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/21/23/senators-grill-local-airlines-over-systemic-flight-delays">Senators grill local airlines over &#x27;systemic&#x27; flight delays, other inconveniences</a></li></ul><div> </div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2692376" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The head of the Civil Aeronautics Board on Friday suggested bringing back a cap on overbooking flights. 