The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Friday confirmed that the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) penalized online travel agency (OTA) AirAsia MOVE for P6 million after the latter “posted excessive and unreasonable airfares on its booking platform.”
According to the Transportation Department, the fine was in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to ensure that every Filipino has access to safe, fair, and affordable travel.
“The P6-million penalty imposed on AirAsia MOVE sends a clear message: the government will not tolerate any form of abuse to Filipino passengers,” the DOTr said.
“The DOTr will continue to protect the rights of the commuting public and to hold accountable those who violate established consumer protection regulations,” it added.
AirAsia MOVE chief executive officer Nadia Omer previously said their pricing mechanism is automated, meaning there is no manual intervention or manipulation of fares on the platform.
“We want to clarify that OTAs operate through third-party aggregators, aside from direct airline partners. These third-party aggregators directly engage with various airlines to sell their seats. OTAs work with these third-party aggregators as a marketing arm or platform. Therefore, OTAs do not have the ability to manually alter prices passed on from these suppliers or airline partners,” Omer said.
“We also want to clarify that there is no overpricing and manipulation as these go against the very principle of our company,” she added.
