Where to go next because of Cebu Bloody Pacific!

[There's-a-chance.]

I booked my G/f Amie, return tickets with Kiwi.Com to travel mid April from Manila (MNL) via Kuwait (KUW) and Istanbul (IST) and then onto Cyprus. The first leg to KUW was with Cebu Pacific, her second leg on a flight four hours later with Jazeera Airways and the final leg Turkish Airlines. She arrived nice and early to check in with just carry on luggage. To cut a very long story short she was denied boarding on the basis that she did not have a Transit Visa for KUW and the outcome was the onward flights were lost. The follow on was to buy very expensive tickets at short notice. 

The complete fiasco is bumping by stealth! 

Now both me and Amie had travelled via KUW previously and we knew that no Transit Visas are requires unless one wishes to do the tourist/shopping thing and pass through Immigration. Kiwi.Com did what they could and tried to convince Cebu Bloody Pacific (CBP) to reverse the decision but they remained intransigent. Amie showed the check in staff a copy of a previous flight tickets via KUW with (CBP) but no change.

CBP explained that a Philippines national must obtain a Transit Visa in advance from the Kuwaiti embassy in Manila to travel onwards via KUW. That is a nonsense they do not issue them they can only be purchased at KUW.

Clearly to get me money back I need to disprove CBP's ridiculous stance!

The Kuwati Embassy in Manila will not confirm by email their Visa Policy but say ask CBP to ring us and we will explain that they are wrong. CBP are refusing to do that, needless to say! The KUW website translation into English is ambiguous and they have not responded to any of my numerous e mails nor have the Philippine and Kuwaiti embassies in Turkey and the UK. Kiwi.Com are hiding behind CBP's stance.

I read recently that the best way to get 'bumped' off a flight is to arrive to check in nice and early. Oh and yes the despicable heartless check in staff bumped a young honeymoon couple with the same Transit Visa excuse who were queued just behind Amie.

I really need some suggestions to win the day, and any ideas or contacts you may have are very much welcome.
 

 

 

[scott h]

We had a saying in the Army chance 

YOU GOT HOSED, but good.

Sorry buddy

[earthdome]

Did you book the flight with a credit card? Can you do a charge back?

[KC813]

Wow.  Fighting with poorly trained & inexperienced airline staff over visa requirements is part of the fun of international travel, but when you lose the fight, it is devastating. Who did you book with to finally get her on her way?

I think all airlines use a service called Timatic as the source of entry and transit information, but it takes some experience/education to read and use it properly.  I butted heads with PAL and Delta when China began their transit without visa rules.  Both times I had a printout from Timatic to show them; Delta just had to study the rule a bit (because it is written in stinted language), but for the PAL staff, it was as if I gave them the schematics for the Large Hadron Collider.  PAL, after a 30 minute committee meeting, gave up and let me board.  I imagine CebuPac would be as difficult.

A printout of Kuwait transfer information from Timatic is the best proof CP screwed up.  I don't have a source any longer for direct Timatic printouts.  I did a search and see that you can still access Timatic data on the internet, but all I found were sites that give "user friendly" responses, but not the actual wording of the rules that airlines see and use.  Maybe someone has a friend at an airline that can get direct access?

Edited July 22, 2017 by KC813
clarity

[not so old china hand]

Have you escalated your complaint? A polite or humorous but firm letter to the head of a company setting out the facts sometimes gets results.

Might be worth a try...

[Old55]

Very sorry to read this wish there were something I could suggest or say. Cebu Pacific has screwed a number of forum members here over the years. I will only attempt to fly them if no other choice for short domestic hops using my CC.

[jpbago]

Did you try the kiwi.com guarantee?

https://www.kiwi.com/en/pages/guarantee

[sonjack2847]

15 hours ago, There's-a-chance. said:

I booked my G/f Amie, return tickets with Kiwi.Com to travel mid April from Manila (MNL) via Kuwait (KUW) and Istanbul (IST) and then onto Cyprus. The first leg to KUW was with Cebu Pacific, her second leg on a flight four hours later with Jazeera Airways and the final leg Turkish Airlines. She arrived nice and early to check in with just carry on luggage. To cut a very long story short she was denied boarding on the basis that she did not have a Transit Visa for KUW and the outcome was the onward flights were lost. The follow on was to buy very expensive tickets at short notice. 

The complete fiasco is bumping by stealth! 

Now both me and Amie had travelled via KUW previously and we knew that no Transit Visas are requires unless one wishes to do the tourist/shopping thing and pass through Immigration. Kiwi.Com did what they could and tried to convince Cebu Bloody Pacific (CBP) to reverse the decision but they remained intransigent. Amie showed the check in staff a copy of a previous flight tickets via KUW with (CBP) but no change.

CBP explained that a Philippines national must obtain a Transit Visa in advance from the Kuwaiti embassy in Manila to travel onwards via KUW. That is a nonsense they do not issue them they can only be purchased at KUW.

Clearly to get me money back I need to disprove CBP's ridiculous stance!

The Kuwati Embassy in Manila will not confirm by email their Visa Policy but say ask CBP to ring us and we will explain that they are wrong. CBP are refusing to do that, needless to say! The KUW website translation into English is ambiguous and they have not responded to any of my numerous e mails nor have the Philippine and Kuwaiti embassies in Turkey and the UK. Kiwi.Com are hiding behind CBP's stance.

I read recently that the best way to get 'bumped' off a flight is to arrive to check in nice and early. Oh and yes the despicable heartless check in staff bumped a young honeymoon couple with the same Transit Visa excuse who were queued just behind Amie.

I really need some suggestions to win the day, and any ideas or contacts you may have are very much welcome.
 

 

 

You Can get Amie to call 8888 and speak to somebody there it is the number for corruption but they may be able to help.The reason I say they might help is that CBP made the mistake and they need to be retrained.Hope it works out for you but with past experience I doubt it.

[Dave Hounddriver]

9 hours ago, Old55 said:

 Cebu Pacific has screwed a number of forum members here over the years.

Agreed.  It is not often you will get good results complaining to Cebu Pacific BUT if you make an effort then document it and go to 

"This Link" < yes its a link that you can click on.

Once there, go to the left side and click on their "complaints desk".  You will find a comment box where you can explain what happened and what you tried to do.  They will reply with instructions on where to go next.

[There's-a-chance.]

On 7/23/2017 at 5:44 AM, Dave Hounddriver said:

Agreed.  It is not often you will get good results complaining to Cebu Pacific BUT if you make an effort then document it and go to 

"This Link" < yes its a link that you can click on.

Once there, go to the left side and click on their "complaints desk".  You will find a comment box where you can explain what happened and what you tried to do.  They will reply with instructions on where to go next.

Dave Hounddriver, brilliant bit of advice thank you. (I have a record of my complaints to CBP on their web site and Fb page........both fobbing me off with overly familiar smarmy comments!)

I have done as you suggested and I'll sit on my hands and wait for in-coming! Thanks once again.