Cathay Pacific Airlines SUCKS!

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

They have no concept of Customer Service. They seem to think they are the only airline who flies to the Philippines and we should be happy to use them despite how poorly they treat customers.

Just getting a hold of a person on the phone is like trying to find El Dorado then when you do get someone they act like they hate you personally!

I just want to know if they allow using a "Balikbayan box" for one of your pieces of checked luggage.

Honestly this single ticket we bought for Anna's trip next month is the only time we will ever use them even if we have to pay double!

[Removed-02242014 19]

They have no concept of Customer Service. They seem to think they are the only airline who flies to the Philippines and we should be happy to use them despite how poorly they treat customers.

Just getting a hold of a person on the phone is like trying to find El Dorado then when you do get someone they act like they hate you personally!

I just want to know if they allow using a "Balikbayan box" for one of your pieces of checked luggage.

Honestly this single ticket we bought for Anna's trip next month is the only time we will ever use them even if we have to pay double!

I have flown to the Philippines three times with Cathay and never never experienced anything but awesome customer service and comfort. Even in my layover in Hong Kong. Even the coach-class food is perfect compared to PAL. At least their flight attendants are younger than 50!

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

I have flown to the Philippines three times with Cathay and never never experienced anything but awesome customer service and comfort. Even in my layover in Hong Kong. Even the coach-class food is perfect compared to PAL. At least their flight attendants are younger than 50!

Have you ever tried to get an answer from them on the phone?

My wife asked about the availability of plain rice as a mean option and the woman just replied "We're not a restaurant", how could that be considered awesome customer service?

[Bayareaguy 156]

I assume you are flying from the states:

Adults/Children First/ Business/ Economy class:

2 Pieces Maximum weight per bag:

First: 32kg (70lbs)

Business: 32kg (70lbs)

Economy: 23kg (50lbs)

Total dimensions of each piece must not exceed 158cm (62in)

Above this they will charge.

http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/helpingyoutravel/checkedbaggage

[b & q 35]

They have no concept of Customer Service. They seem to think they are the only airline who flies to the Philippines and we should be happy to use them despite how poorly they treat customers.

Just getting a hold of a person on the phone is like trying to find El Dorado then when you do get someone they act like they hate you personally!

I just want to know if they allow using a "Balikbayan box" for one of your pieces of checked luggage.

Honestly this single ticket we bought for Anna's trip next month is the only time we will ever use them even if we have to pay double!

I'm sorry you have had a bad experience but I've flown them a few times and have had nothing but an amazing experience. I would rate them as the best airline I've ever used.

Also, I've had no problem contacting them when I needed to. Are you calling them within normal business hours or not? (check their site)

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

I assume you are flying from the states:

Adults/Children First/ Business/ Economy class:

2 Pieces Maximum weight per bag:

First: 32kg (70lbs)

Business: 32kg (70lbs)

Economy: 23kg (50lbs)

Total dimensions of each piece must not exceed 158cm (62in)

Of course I can see this info on their website. The thing is that when you fly to the Philippines you always see people checking BB Boxes so we were thinking about doing the same thing but how can we do it if we can't get the needed info? I mean if it would just cost extra then be polite and tell us.

The whole smart-a$$ "we're not a restaurant" answer is inexcusable...

We can't comment on their in flight service but that doesn't matter much if the company's before flight service makes you hate the company as a whole.

Also, I've had no problem contacting them when I needed to. Are you calling them within normal business hours or not? (check their site)

Yes, I'm calling well within their normal business hours...

[Bayareaguy 156]

Of course I can see this info on their website. The thing is that when you fly to the Philippines you always see people checking BB Boxes so we were thinking about doing the same thing but how can we do it if we can't get the needed info? I mean if it would just cost extra then be polite and tell us.

Not sure what you mean...if the box is over the weight and dimensions listed, they will charge you. As you said the needed info is there?

As long as you know the dimensions of your box.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Not sure what you mean...if the box is over the weight and dimensions listed, they will charge you. As you said the needed info is there?

As long as you know the dimensions of your box.

Well it isn't immediately clear but it seems like it might cost an additional $150 to use a BB Box as your second piece of checked luggage which is simply too much. Of course if their customer service (before the flight) was worth a dime it would only take a 2 minute phone call to confirm this. Since the whole BB Box is most likely a common thing.

Now I just got off the phone as was told something that contradicts the website!

The Asian lady on the phone who doesn't know what a Balikbayan Box even is told me if the dimensions of the box are under 80 inches then it's a $100 charge if over that it's $600!

[southcalhog 43]

I Have No idea about Cathay Pacific, BUT what i do know, is PAL seems to have More Balikbayan boxes than Luggage. I just stood and watched the boxes on the Carousel until my Luggage came from the Chute!

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

I Have No idea about Cathay Pacific, BUT what i do know, is PAL seems to have More Balikbayan boxes than Luggage. I just stood and watched the boxes on the Carousel until my Luggage came from the Chute!

It was the same way when I flew Asiana Airlines to the Philippines...

I guess my point was that for something that is so obviously prevalent you'd expect the airline to have the information more readily available.

[Kang 22]

Of course I can see this info on their website. The thing is that when you fly to the Philippines you always see people checking BB Boxes so we were thinking about doing the same thing but how can we do it if we can't get the needed info? I mean if it would just cost extra then be polite and tell us.

The whole smart-a$$ "we're not a restaurant" answer is inexcusable...

We can't comment on their in flight service but that doesn't matter much if the company's before flight service makes you hate the company as a whole.

Yes, I'm calling well within their normal business hours...

Was your wife able to get the reference number or the name of the representative? I suspect that Cathay, like many companies are just using call centers. Someone needs to be fired.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Was your wife able to get the reference number or the name of the representative? I suspect that Cathay, like many companies are just using call centers. Someone needs to be fired.

At this point it simply isn't worth our time. Cathay loses a family of customers (they probably won't even notice our absence) and we'll always fly one of the dozen other airlines that operate one that route...

So I guess in essence some did get fired as we've fired Cathay as our airline!

[Crashed~N2~Me 970]

At least their flight attendants are younger than 50!

What's your point?

[SuperDuper! 230]

CP doesn't suck, you just got unlucky talking to the wrong people, and didn't have a good phone # to get thru. Sorry for your frustration and bad experience. We've had nothing but good experiences with CP, and go out of our way to fly them. This year, mahal had to fly Korean Air, and they are great, too.

In fact, CP is rated #1 in the TransPacific category of World's Best Airlines, 2011, and # 4 overall:

This award is maybe the most reliable because voted by 18,8 millions air travelers of more than 100 nationalities. 200 airlines participating at the contest -the largest and the small domestic carriers. More than 38 criteria of customer satisfaction analyzed.The servey was conducted between July 2010 and May 2011 and the 2011 World Airline Awards was hold at the French Air and Space Museum at Paris’Le Bourget Airport.

Here is the list of winners

1 Qatar Airways

2 Singapore Airline

3 Asiana Airlines (best last year)

4 Cathay Pacific Airways

5 Thai Airways International

6 Etihad Airways

7 Air New Zealand

8 Qantas Airways

9 Turkish Airlines

10 Emirates

source: http://www.worldairlineawards.com/

ps, no flight attendants over 50 means No Grannies

Edited November 26, 2011 by Boing!

[Kang 22]

At this point it simply isn't worth our time. Cathay loses a family of customers (they probably won't even notice our absence) and we'll always fly one of the dozen other airlines that operate one that route...

So I guess in essence some did get fired as we've fired Cathay as our airline!

One reason why companies should just establish their OWN customer service rather than paying for services of call centers. A lot of their agents just read stuff found in use manuals and FAQ