Zest Airways Philippines — a horrible passenger experience
I just had the worst travel experience with Zest Air Philippines earlier today. I have flown with Zest Air and other budget airlines in the Philippines but I have never experienced something as bad as the one I just had this morning. I’ve heard a lot of negative stories about the airline’s horrible service but I never took them seriously. For one, I never experienced these kind of things and some events are just so inevitable that we can let it pass — especially for companies like Zest Air who does better in producing artificially flavored juices than running a small fleet of hand-me-down Airbus planes.
November 27
13:20
At around 1:20 PM last Saturday, a day before my scheduled departure from Iloilo, I received a call from Zest Air’s Manila office informing about the change of schedule of my ILO-MNL flight. It was originally scheduled on November 28 20:35 but was moved to November 29 05:55. Since I only itinerary is only until November 28, I asked the agent if the airlines could possibly shoulder the hotel expenses from November 28 to November 29. The agent assured to call back once she gets an answer from her superior. I waited until in the evening for her call but I received nothing. I tried calling her landline number but I received no answer. I also tried calling Zest Air’s hotline but I was greeted with pre-recorded messages telling me that my concerns can only be answered during office hours (Monday to Friday). Since getting through Zest Air’s communication lines seems hopeless, I decided to give up and settle whatever that can be settled in Zest Airway’s Manila office upon arrival on November 29.
Since my flight is scheduled early in the morning, I decided that it would be impractical to extend my stay with Iloilo Business Hotel. So what I did, I left my stuff in Ate Aileen’s room and decided to get it before I head out to the airport. Since I have no hotel to stay, it also meant that I won’t be getting any sleep.
November 29
01:00
Since I didn’t have a place to stay for the night, I decided to leave Iloilo City earlier so I could spend the rest of my time in the airport until my flight schedule. So after preparing everything, we went to pick up a taxi that would take us to Iloilo International Airport. Getting to Iloilo Airport by the way is not a walk in the park. It usually takes around 40 minutes to get to the airport from Iloilo City on a taxi. After getting into the cab, the driver told us that the airport would not open until 4:30 in the morning. Since airlines require its passengers to be in the airport two hours before the scheduled departure time, I left the city at 4:00 a.m. so I would be early enough for check-in and just in time for the airport to open.
04:40
At approximately 4:40 a.m., I arrived in the airport. Though the main airport gate has already been opened, the departure gate was still closed and the passenger queue had been building up. During that time, most of the ticketing offices are still closed.
05:00
After waiting the long queue, I finally entered the check-in area of the airport. The only airline receiving check-ins was Cebu Pacific. I was hoping to see someone from the Zest Air counter since it’s already an hour before my scheduled departure but not a single Zest Air employee can be found. I went up the airport to see the flight information for the day. I was devastated to find out that there are no Zest Air flights scheduled in the morning. I went back outside to see if I could find someone in the Zest Air ticketing office, but there was none. I started getting restless and impatient at that time due to stress and lack of sleep.
06:30
I went back to Zest Air’s ticketing office to see if someone has already arrived but still, there was no one. Even the check-in counters, no one from Zest Air showed up. The flight information displayed didn’t display an ILO-MNL 5:55 flight either.
7:00
Waiting for anyone from Zest Air seemed hopeless, I decided to buy a ticket from PAL so I could leave Iloilo and get fill my sleep deprivation when I get back in Makati.
22:00
I tried calling the Zest Air’s express counter in Manila International Airport. The ticketing office in MIA is the only Zest Air channel I could contact. Giving the airlines the benefit of the doubt that I got the flight details wrong, I tried asking for my flight details. I confirmed that my flight was indeed rescheduled from 20:35 Nov 28 to 05:55 Nov 29. Furthermore, airline records showed that they didn’t have an ILO-MNL flight scheduled at 05:55 Nov 29.
Also, the guy who I talked to informed me that I owe Zest Airways P1220.00 P1120.00 for not showing up on my flight.
Zest Air rescheduled my original flight to a new time where no planes are scheduled to fly. What they did cost me money, time and a lot of stress. The incident made me swear not to ever trust Zest Air again. It only happened once and I will not let it happen to me again. I doubt AMY Holdings Corporation will take responsibility of this incident. I have heard a lot of similar incidents and Zest Airways didn’t do anything to compensate for the mistake or improve their service. I don’t expect Zest Air to compensate for the damages they caused me but one thing’s for sure, they lost one customer and they will surely lose more if they continue this kind of attitude towards their customers.
If you have other horrible Zest Air experience, please feel free to share. Zest Air already made a lot of damages in the past and we wouldn’t want other to experience the same.
UPDATE:
November 30, 10:20 a.m.
Last night, when I called Zest Air’s Express ticketing office, they confirmed with me that the fight was moved to November 29, 5:55 AM and that no Zest Air flights were scheduled on that day/time. The guy I talked to advised me to contact Zest Air’s hotline this morning to check what can be done. After calling the customer hotline (while keeping my cool) this morning, I learned that their records show that it the flight was supposed to be 5:55 a.m. on November 28. I was surprised. Since I still owe them P1120, the agent still CAN’T send me the transcript of my flight details not unless I pay the no show fee.
I was pretty sure that the agent who called me last November 27 told me that the flight was moved later and not earlier. Most parts of our conversation were about the request for hotel and accommodation compensation since my flight will be moved on a later date. Why would I request for a accommodation if she had told me that the flight was moved to an earlier time, diba? And another thing, if indeed it was moved to 5:55 a.m. on November 28, why would they leave their customers only a few hours to prepare for their mistakes? The agent ended our conversation assuring me that she will call back after she receives a feedback from her superior(s) regarding my request. Yet, she never called back.
Getting the transcript from the Airlines is hopeless since there’s no way I’m gonna pay for that P1120. Heck, why would I? I even paid for a new Philippine Airline Ticket (to get back to Manila) which is way way way more expensive than the original cost of my FAIL Zest Air flight.
Other Horrible Experiences with Zest Air:
226 Responses to “Zest Airways Philippines — a horrible passenger experience”
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Originally sharing his experiences of being a "yagit" in Davao, he now tries to find his luck in the busy district of Makati. He still finds time to blog and go on weekend trips despite his hectic schedule. Join Batang Yagit, now that he has developed from "rags" to a more abundant supply of rags.
I witnessed how stressed you are prior to the suppposedly ‘rescheduled’ flight. ZestAir needs to work on their customer service because it’s causing too much stress to their affected passengers.
Ada and I experienced a six hours delayed flight last October 2009. Instead of the original 10am flight, we left Mactan International Airport at 4PM! I have work pa by 1pm sana but i had no choice but to wait for the long delayed afternoon flight pft.
What really pissed me off with your situation is their incompetent customer service. It is the reason why i’d rather book in other budget airlines although they’re a bit pricey at times compared to Zestair. Tsktsk.
damn! badtrip naman yan! dapat mag top 1 to sa keyword na “zest air”.
Grrrrrrrrr~!
awts.This is just so bad, No! This is just so horrible. :-(
At talagang binayaran mo ang P1220.00?? PFT!
:no: to :airplane: (Zest Air) such a :loser:!!
well, it only made things worst.
Wew! Sobra pa pala sa delay. Ikaw na nga ang na perwisyo ikaw pa ang magbabayad. hayz. Marami talaga nagrereklamo sa kanila.
Kung nagroro ka ng 27 malamang nauna ka pa sa eroplano nila. :D
Kaya mas prefer ko ung Cebu pacific and Pal yun lang medyo mahal ng konti.
baka nga mas nauna pa ako sa kanila.
nakakahighblood!
email their superiors, ipost sa PEX at sa lahat ng forums! haha tingnan natin kung di ka pansinin..
They will find out about this soon.
waaaa! nakakainis pala ang zest air kung ganun :no: na feel ko ang inis mo :D hayaan mo di ako papabook sa kanila para dagdag sa minus ng clients… :p
We learned you had a delay, didn’t know it was that long. Konti na lang and you would’ve caught us at the airport when we went there around 11am. Just to let you know, the noontime flights for Air Philippine and Cebu Pacific (our flight) that day all went according to sched.
Zest Air is really gaining a bad reputation these days. The sad thing about it is that it’s confirmed by many. So it’s not a desolate case.
Take another airline next time Winston.
If we only knew, you couldn’t spent the night with us.
I could have gotten some sleep. :(
yeah, you could’ve stayed with us!
whew… shit happens but this really sucks dude.
i hope zest air reads this
shit like this always happen, someone just needs to make a stand.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Now that was a good laugh
for them to piss somebody as grounded as you, then they must really be a bad airline.
glad that you survived it though….
I experienced long flight delays with them before kuya but yesterday was just too much.
pwede ma share and ma blast? ehhehe.. worth the share sa ibang mga groups.. :) good thing hindi ako naka punta sa ilo-ilo..
Yes Rodel. It didn’t happen to other airlines flying in/out of Iloilo. Sa Zest Air lang.
hindi lang isa nawala winz, mrami na tau. iv herd a lot of bad things na din bout Zest Air & gaya ng sabi mo hey will surely lose more if they continue this kind of attitude towards their customers.
i feel sorry for zest air for having such a bad reputation.
What the hell is wrong with this airline? Perhaps a lot. I agree with Jehz dapat ma number one itung post na to sa search results ng zest airlines.hehe. Mabuti pang mag shift n lang cla ng bus company o kaya jeepney operator.
customer satisfaction isn’t their priority.
Sorry to hear that. Before, I’m thinking of flying with Zest Air but when I’ve heard a lot of bad experiences of other passengers about zest air in different blogs / forums I’ve decided not to board with Zest Air. I guess my decision is right.
I’ll share it to my folks.
yes, you made the right choice.
What a nightmare this has been for you, my friend! I truly feel what you went through. Based on how you told your story, it seems like nakapag-timpi ka pa yata. Kung ako yan, baka namura ko na sila nang todo!
I also had a terrible experience with them. On my way home from Kalibo Airport, the pilot said they will turn off the airconditioning unit before take off and will turn it back on after the plane has achieved its safe altitude. At first, I said “okay, since they informed us about it and nag-apologize naman sila.” But frustration starts to settle until we have landed. They didn’t turned on the A/C for the whole 45-minute flight! Worse, they failed to mention the reason why they turned it off when we landed. Kumbaga, parang walang nangyari! Since then, I officially cursed ZestAir and promised not to ever set foot on their planes! They should’ve change their slogan to “Asia’s most unrefreshing airline!”
hahaha. nagtag pa sila as Asia’s most refreshing airline. False advertising yun.
why am i not surprise? my Mom got delayed for 2hours from Manila to Cebu with the air-conditioner facing her feet. My friends got tickets from Zest for our Manila trip. I got mine from Cebu Pacific.
delays are common but getting rescheduled to a non-existing flight is something.
yah. for my own personal experience, zest airways was the most embarrassing trip I ever had. There planes were noisy and air conditioning aren’t working while at the ground. my sweat was rolling down when i went in. so bad!
I agree
i preferred airphilexpress and CEB than this plane.
mag-PAL na uli ako.
Imagine if you didn’t have extra cash or a credit card. That would be the worst day of your life. GRABE! DISREGARDING PASSENGER SAFETY. HOW IRRESPONSIBLE.
buti may pera ako. hahaha
Patawa yang Zest Air dapat magsara na yan hehehe
magsasara na yan bukas.. hehehe :P
mas magaling sila gumawa ng juice. dun na lang sila.
hahaha.. oo nga.. mamigay nalang sila ng juice.. libre naman eh. hahaha!
sorry you had to go through all that shit. man, i cant imagine what id do if i were in your position. of course you shouldnt be paying for not showing up. Heck they should even give you a refund for all the trouble. And complimentary flights for the year! and more complimentary flights for every delayed one. Ugh!
I was soo tired and sleepy to even think of getting mad that time. And besides, not a single crew from Zest Air showed up in the airport.
I read some bloggers having the same experience.
This is scary if you don’t have enough budget to purchase another ticket.
Magtanga sa airport ang show! :-/
Scary jud. Good thing I had extra money with me.
paano nalang kung nangyari ito sa turista… naku nakakahiya.
I hope na makarating ito sa management nila para maparusahan ang dapat maparusahan.
Regardless if sa pinoy or sa foreigner nangyari, the airline should provide quality service. Sana nga makarating to sa higher ups.
I have never tried Zest Air and prolly never will. Ikaw na yung naperwisyo, ikaw pa yung magbabayad sa kanila? Grabe!
Ridiculous yung systema nila.
zest air can go to hell
Maybe it is time to file a case against them …
hindi nila yan papansinin ang case.. basta mga hindi VIP na tulad nating mga bloggers lang, ibabali wala lang nila hanggang sa makalimutan na.. hehe
ORM! ORM! :-D haha. Mapapansin na yan pag nasa top na sa keyword nila with matching sitelinks. haha :laugh:
Sorry to hear about your bad experience with Zest Air Winston. Dami na nilang atraso sa mga customers nila ha and its like they don’t really care. I hope this did not ruin your Iloilo experience though. Thank you for attending the VBS ulit!
I had much fun in Iloilo of course! :)
Awww, laking hassle naman niyan.
Sobbbraaaaa!
sumbong nyo nalng yan sa ATO (AIR TRANSPORTATION OFFICE)para ma bigyan ng leksyon
Oh geez… that is freaking annoying! Stress to the max naman ang incident na ito.
sobrang stressful nga. hehehe
di kita masisisi. siguro pag ako yan, baka mas malala pa ginawa ko! inaway ko na dati ang cebu pacific, sobrang high blood na ako dati.
i guess ganun nga talaga kapag budget airline sasakyan mo, asahan mo sa service least priority nila. hanggang sa makakagatas sila ng pera sa passenger gagawin nila!
wag na wag mong babayaran yung hinihingi nila na no show fee. daya nun!
di kita masisisi. siguro pag ako yan, baka mas malala pa ginawa ko! inaway ko na dati ang cebu pacific, sobrang high blood na ako dati.
i guess ganun nga talaga kapag budget airline sasakyan mo, asahan mo sa service least priority nila. hanggang sa makakagatas sila ng pera sa passenger gagawin nila!
Oh my Gulay. Your experience is really one for the book. Pwedi sa Guinness book of World record- Worst Customer service in the world.
Mas gusto ko pa AirPhil Express kesa Zest Air! luma pa mga planes nito..
mas ok ang airphil kesa zest. :D
Susmaryosep! If this happened to me, demanda ever talaga agad!
hahaha. Zen mode pa ako irene. :D
i’ve never flown with zestair. and because of this post, i won’t ever!
you have other better options. :) don’t settle for less.
oh my goodness… I lost respect for this airline. I can just imagine the stress
Oi, #3 na ito sa SERPs. Wala ng sasakay sa Zest-O airplanes nila, hehe..
malapit na #1. hehehe
I think most people here have covered the emotions and words I’d want to bump in.. so..
wtf….
Cebu Pacific (Local) – Singapore Airlines (International) Traveler forever ^^,
Ang sarap gawan ng comics nito!
Being a budget airline is not an excuse for a lousy customer service.
uy masaya yan! cartoon! :D
same thing happened to byahilo and i think he also had to fork out money to buy a ticket from another airline. zest air is going to the dogs, they need to hire airline professionals to turn the whole thing around. yung tiga timpla yata nila ng zesto ang ginawa nilang manager ng airline nila eh :-D
he warned me kuya before I left our hotel. I never knew something worse than what happened to byahilo could happen to me.
My God! these are the type of planes they called PIPER plane..ginagamit pang spray sa plantation :(…zest air talaga namamasada pa….
I haven’t seen the plane that would take me back to Manila. hehehe. Hindi dumating!
I sent your blog post’s link to my uncle who works in Zest Air hoping it will get their attention. :-D
Hi Chantal, thanks. I do hope they find this useful in getting their services right.
my brod and all their vacation companions (15 of them)for cebu got messed up with zest airs fucking service (change sched, delays and poor service record.)pati pari napa mura sa serbisyo nila! mas malaki pa ginastos nila sa pag accomodate lang sa changes kaysa air fare ng zest. Like everyone here, i think this air line should just make juices rather than be in the business of flying humans…
ang dali lang para sa kanila na magcancel and move ng flights.
Oh man, that sucks big time! If downgrading was a bit uncomfy. This one is one helluva stupidity for the airline. I may have the patience for traveling but this is too much!
This is not the first time though yet let me help you disseminate the info to everyone.
Do whatever you can so that justice shall be served.
Thanks bern. I thought the worst that could happen with Zest is long flight delays. May worse than worst pa pala. hehehe
Grabeh, feel na feel ko yung pagkabasa ko nitong post mo. Nag-init tenga ko! Hahahaha.
But, seriously, I’ve never tried Zest Air pa. Only the rest of my family did when they went to Boracay last year. It was a convention pa ng mga Public Health workers. The flight was delayed ng super. Tsk tsk.
I feel for you. Boycott na natin ang Zest Air!!
ipapablock ko na siya sa credit card company ko para never na akong makakapagbook sa kanya. hahahaha.
they take flight delays, flight cancellations and operation mischiefs lightly. someone should teach them a lesson.
Feel bad for you Engr. The country’s worst airline just got worse.
and I never knew until yesterday that something is worse than getting your flight cancelled, moved and delayed.
try adding “worst airline” in your title. hehe
Most refreshing? More like, most fatiguing…
I feel for you. I also had a similar incident, although it was with Airphil Express. My flight was scheduled at 9am, at nung nasa airport na ako, blank faces lang ang sumalubong sa akin dahil nireschedule daw to 7am ang flight ko, hindi man lang ako nainform via email or text. Buti nalang they offered to let me fly on the next flight, which was 4pm, without paying anything… At least, they didn’t add insult to the injury na…
For Zest Air naman, I also have a post about my first experience with them: “With that experience, will I fly with Zest Air ever again? YES, but only as a last resort.”
http://www.libotero.com/zest-air-experience/
Let’s help Winston spread the word! Direct your tweets to @zestair and @zestairz2 and tell them how sucky they are! :rotfl:
mukhang di ata nila ginagamit kuya. i doubt they even have PR
Ok, I’m convinced. No more Zest Air for me. I had flight canceled once with them that I didn’t find out about until I arrived at the airport. There were just a couple workers with a small portable table and a laptop sitting in front of the airport to reschedule my flight. I remember thinking “These people are flying planes?” I thought it was humorous more than anything, but it does make me think twice about booking a flight with them again.
same here. I won’t ever fly with them. >.<