ASIAN SPIRIT under new management

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The complaints of passengers don't stop!

How mismanaged is that airline! They don't pay back the fares for flights because they have not enough cash on hand. They collect for flights which never operate and let the passenger believe that the flight will be operating!

Renaissance in progress... - The Batanes Disaster that is called ZestAir!

The Batanes Disaster that is called ZestAir!

After months of slow but clear planning; I, together with Jay Jallorina was finally all set and booked for Basco, Batanes! It was a dream destination of mine especially after getting a glimpse of what Batanes had to offer through Jay's shots from the Epson sponsored event a few months ago which was also published and made cover in Digital Photographer Philippines' Issue 22: Coast to Coast. Great light, crashing waves, rocks, and huge sea stacks... what more would a landscape photographer ask for?

Booking a flight was hassle free on my part through ZestAir's online facility (except that I had to follow-up on the E-Ticket twice before it was finally faxed/emailed to me). Though Jay had a problem since the online system wasn't accepting his credit cards. It was quickly remedied by a trip to the ZestAir ticketing office in Makati. On the evening of November 17, Jay texted me that we were go with our flight leaving December 28 for Basco and eventually we would be coming back to Manila on January 4. That's roughly 7 days of exploring and shooting Batanes! It finally all came together... or so it seemed.

I received a message from Jay yesterday, almost 1 month after booking, that ZestAir abruptly cancelled our flights for "Operational Reasons". I have no idea what those operational reasons are but they are cancelling all Sunday flights to Basco immediately. Weird thing is, I never received a call/email from ZestAir regarding the cancellation of our flights. I only knew because Jay got the call, but not me. I am tempted to assume that if Jay wasn't informed, I would be left hanging in the air come the day of the flight.

Anyway, after a few minutes of going through the phase of being angry, sad, to acceptance; I decided to calm down and look for alternative flights. Of course, I wasn't going to look to ZestAir, by that time they were already scratched from my good book. Looking at the bright side, we thought we could just refund the money and book a flight elsewhere. Fortunately, SeaAir still had flights to Basco on the 26th and a Manila bound flight on the 3rd of January. It was 3 thousand pesos more expensive than that of ZestAir's but it had to do. We were still determined to push through no matter what.

So today, Jay and I went to ZestAir's ticketing office in Makati. Jay made his sincere, guilt-casting speech towards the staff while I learning from the past, (when I complain to staff, I usually get so riled up to the point of being unreasonable and flat down furious) decided to keep quiet. Jay got his refund immediately since he paid cash over the counter when he booked. I on the other hand was a different sad story. I was informed that I was getting my refund as a charge back to my credit card. When I asked how long it would take, the sales agent said, "30 to 60 days depending on the bank's cut-off". What the f*ck!!! Add to that, the agent said that she was already sending my appeal for a refund. Appeal?! Was she kidding me? We were the one's getting screwed and we're the one's who need to make an appeal?!? Apparently, I also had to make my own personal "appeal" towards the online booking facility to get my refund. Talk about customer service! Craptastic policies!

Fortunately I had some extra funds that I got from my company's yearly Christmas gifts. It was supposed to go to bills payments and buying gifts for Christmas but alas, ZestAir totally destroyed my December budget.

After that ordeal, we made our way to SeaAir's ticketing office to book our flights which went smoothly enough. We've rescheduled our trip to the 26th to January 3. A bit longer than expected but atleast it'll give us more time to shoot. Hopefully, all goes well with SeaAir.

A word to the wise, if you're booking a flight, I do not recommend ZestAir unless it's a last resort. Unfortunately, the brand restructuring of Asian Spirit to Zest Airways only made it worse.

Taken from their slogan, here's to ZESTAIR... ALL AIR, NO ZEST! THERE'S A NEW PEST IN THE AIR! ASIA'S MOST INFURIATING AIRLINE!

I love the last sentence:

ZESTAIR... ALL AIR, NO ZEST! THERE'S A NEW PEST IN THE AIR! ASIA'S MOST INFURIATING AIRLINE!

http://freeze-mythoughts.***********...ine.html#links

What's in a Tagline?

A tagline is a branding slogan, a phrase that will reflect the product's concept or otherwise, it's a marketing tool to create a desired image in line with the company's mission.

In the Philippines, banks for one has taglines like "you're in good hands" with Metrobank and BDO has "we find ways". The former connotes confidence building while the latter aims convenience banking; both have somehow lived up to their tag line.

SM Malls goes for "we got it all for you" while Ayala Malls "because you deserve more", then there's Max's "sarap to the bones", Jollibee's "langhap sarap". Some claims ownership like Coca-cola's "coke ko 'to" and McDonald's "love ko 'to".

Even countries market their tourism sector with phrases like Wow Philippines, Amazing Thailand, Sparkling Korea, Uniquely Singapore...

Airlines like Cebu Pacific failed to live up to it's on time track record so they changed it's tag line from "99% on time" to "it's time everyone flies CP". The latter is a shift in marketing strategy to dominate the market by offering absurdly low fares. While PAL changed from "Asia's sunniest" to "It's about experience" to "Clearly No. 1", to highlight some facts or make a statement.

Asian Spirit on the otherhand recently changed it's name to Zest Airways, following it's new owner's Zest-O brand for drinks. By changing it's name it can save itself from the mockery of being tagged as "leave as asians, land as spirits". But what really struck me is their new tagline - "Asia's most refreshing airline." Duh, what's that again? I wonder what that tagline aims to convey or simply a lame effort to relate the word "zest" with "airlines". I hope it doesn't mean fresh air, the last time I boarded Asian Spirit, a fan is provided, that came in handy since there is barely cool airconditioning throughout the flight. Nevertheless, this is a welcome development to all travelers and a renewed challenge to the airline industry.