4 days ago
12
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Elijah Felice Rosales - The Philippine Star
June 3, 2025 | 12:00am
Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon says his agency is cracking down on AirAsia Move for charging as much as P39,000 per guest per way for Manila-Tacloban flights. Platform will be taken down within the day, says Dizon.
Jah Rosales
MANILA, Philippines — AirAsia Move is contesting the cease and desist order issued by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which has accused the company of violating approved fare structures.
In a statement yesterday, AirAsia Move CEO Nadia Omer clarified that the company does not manually set or manipulate airfares.
Omer attributed the wide discrepancy in its fares to “temporary data synchronization issues with flight pricing partners.”
Air Asia Move also maintained that CAB’s jurisdiction applies only to air carriers, not to foreign-based platforms. The company noted that other platforms, such as Agoda, Kiwi and Traveloka, were similarly affected by the surge in displayed fares. Air Asia Move is the booking arm of budget carrier AirAsia.
“This technical discrepancy caused by the third-party provider is not isolated to MOVE as it also affected other booking platforms across the industry, including Agoda, Kiwi.com and Traveloka,” Omer said, adding that it took “immediate steps” with the third-party pricing provider for immediate resolution.”
Omer said that as an online travel agency, it displays flight inventory and pricing data “as provided by its authorized upstream suppliers, including third-party aggregators and Global Distribution Systems.”
MOVE affirmed its “full cooperation with the Philippine government to uphold transparent and fair pricing and consumer protection.”
AirAsia Move is facing a possible case of economic sabotage from the government for reportedly overcharging passengers headed to crisis-hit Tacloban.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) plans to sue AirAsia Move for selling one-way tickets from Manila to Tacloban for nearly P39,000 per passenger – over three times the cost of similar flights offered by other carriers.
Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez raised the issue after attempting to book a flight home in the last week of May.
Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon called the pricing “criminal,” especially amid an ongoing transport crisis in Eastern Visayas triggered by the rehabilitation of the San Juanico Bridge.
A government-enforced three-ton load limit on the bridge has halted bus and truck crossings, causing major logistical disruptions.
Dizon said this makes the fares charged by AirAsia Move all the more criminal, compelling him to sue it for economic sabotage and summon its executives on June 5.
For comparison, flag carrier Philippine Airlines is offering fares for the same route at just over P12,000.
In a letter dated May 26, the CAB slapped AirAsia Move with a cease and desist order for selling tickets of other Philippine carriers at prices higher than approved fare structures.
CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla insisted that the agency can regulate entities breaching approved fare caps, and raised the possibility that AirAsia Move may be engaged in price gouging – profiteering during an extraordinary crisis.
The DOTr is now working with the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group to explore options for restricting access to AirAsia Move’s app in the Philippines. — Michael Punongbayan
