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The Civil Aeronautics Board is imposing a P6-million fine on AirAsia Move for posting “excessive and unreasonable” airfares on its booking platform
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The Department of Transportation said the penalty imposed on AirAsia Move “sends a clear message: the government will not tolerate any form of abuse to Filipino passengers”
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CAB last May issued a cease and desist order against AirAsia Move for alleged overcharging of fares, particularly on Tacloban-Manila flights
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AirAsia Move earlier said its pricing mechanism is automated and all fares are sourced from third-party aggregators
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) is imposing a P6-million fine on AirAsia Move for posting “excessive and unreasonable” airfares on its booking platform, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
DOTr in a statement commended CAB, its attached agency, for the “swift action”, noting that the penalty imposed on AirAsia Move “sends a clear message: the government will not tolerate any form of abuse to Filipino passengers.”
CAB last May issued cease and desist order against AirAsia Move for alleged overcharging of fares, particularly on Tacloban-Manila flights.
In the order, CAB said it had determined that AirAsia Move “has engaged in the unauthorized sale of airline tickets for carriers in the Philippines at prices exceeding the approved fare structures established by the CAB.”
It added: “Such actions violate the fare regulations and policies set forth by the CAB.”
AirAsia Move (formerly AirAsia Superapp) is under MOVE Digital, the digital arm of Malaysia-based Capital A Berhad (operating as AirAsia).
The alleged overpricing took place as the temporary weight restriction at San Juanico Bridge that started in May impacts transport connectivity between the provinces of Leyte and Samar, leading to exploration of alternative options.
CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla, in a press briefing on June 2, said “it is very clear to us that there is a confluence of two factors that point to price gouging, because price gouging is a situation where a provider or an entity unreasonably increases the prices of services on account of shortage, scarcity or high demand for the product on account of certain abnormal situations like weather disturbance…and this increase is not justified by the supply and demand process and this is beyond the cost of operating the service…”
During the same briefing, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said they were made aware of the alleged overpricing by Leyte representative Richard Gomez, who bought from AirAsia Move on May 29 two one-way economy tickets from Tacloban to Manila via a Philippine Airlines flight totaling more than P77,000. In comparison, fares from the PAL website for the same day were only more than P12,000.
Moreover, Dizon said he was contacted by Office of Civil Defense administrator Ariel Nepomuceno saying they have been receiving reports on the alleged overpricing of airfares following the temporary weight limit restriction at San Juanico bridge.
Following a CAB inquiry on June 5, AirAsia Move in a statement said its chief executive officer, Nadia Omer, clarified the supply chain process in the online travel agent (OTA) industry, and emphasized that Move’s pricing mechanism is automated and there are no manual intervention or manipulation of fares on the platform. She also said all fares are sourced from third-party aggregators, not set by OTAs like Move.
Following the cease and desist order, Move immediately took action by calling out the attention of the third-party suppliers, requesting for immediate removal of the fares in question.
