Sec. Vince Dizon of the Division of Transportation speaks to the members of the media throughout joint press convention at DOTr Workplace in San Juan Metropolis on Thursday, Could 22, 2025 . —Arnel Tacson, INQUIRER.web
MANILA, Philippines — AirAsia Transfer, the net journey agent platform of aviation group AirAsia, is dealing with an financial sabotage case that the Division of Transportation (DOTr) is concentrating on to file this week for allegedly promoting aircraft tickets at “unreasonably” excessive costs.
In a press briefing on Monday, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon mentioned the case was based mostly on the grievance of couple Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez and Ormoc Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez who booked Philippine Airways (PAL) flights from Tacloban to Manila through AirAsia Transfer.
The 2 one-way tickets value them about P77,704. However had they booked straight on the PAL web site, they might have been charged solely P49,507 in complete, Dizon mentioned, including: “Clearly, that is simply absurd and … truly legal.”
In response to him, the net journey agent platform was pricing aircraft tickets excessive amid a transport disaster in Tacloban the place final week, the town council declared a state of emergency. The transport of products and medical provides between Leyte and Samar provinces has been disrupted due to the partial closure of San Juanico Bridge for repairs.
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For now, the DOTr chief mentioned they had been working with the Philippine Nationwide Police Anti-Cybercrime Group to take down the web site and cellular software.
Different on-line journey agent platforms would even be investigated, he mentioned as he suggested passengers to purchase their tickets straight from airline firms to keep away from being overcharged.
AirAsia Transfer is an excellent app that provides journey providers like flights, resort lodging, ride-hailing and monetary providers.
Earlier than this, the DOTr ordered the Malaysia-based firm on Could 26 “to stop and desist from providing, selling or promoting tickets of different Philippine carriers at costs that exceed the authorized fare constructions established by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).”
In response, AirAsia Transfer mentioned it has “applied measures to make sure compliance” with the order though it harassed that CAB’s authority doesn’t cowl foreign-based on-line journey agent platforms like itself.
CAB govt director Carmelo Arcilla, nonetheless, mentioned this was not the case this time. The regulating physique units the worth ceilings for aircraft fares to guard passengers and guarantee honest competitors.
“When that ceiling is violated by an entity even when they don’t seem to be outlined [to be] beneath our jurisdiction, they arrive inside our enforcement proceedings,” he defined.
Arcilla mentioned the incident was tantamount to cost gouging—a “state of affairs the place a supplier or any entity unreasonably will increase the costs of providers on account of a scarcity, shortage or excessive demand for the product.”
“Value gouging is frowned upon and abhorred all around the world. We is not going to permit it,” he added.
Technical discrepancy
AirAsia Transfer CEO Nadia Omer, in an announcement, mentioned they don’t “manually set or manipulate airfares in gentle of the fare discrepancy points.”
“The discrepancies in fare shows for sure routes, together with home flights operated by Philippine Airways, had been brought on by non permanent information synchronization points with flight pricing companions,” she defined.
Omer mentioned this was not an remoted case for AirAsia Transfer as different reserving platforms like Aguda, Kiwi.com and Traveloka additionally take care of the identical downside.
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She mentioned they’d reached out to their third-party pricing supplier to instantly resolve the matter, along with implementing measures to “additional improve safeguards to stop any future recurrence.” /cb
