Pinabulaanan ng aktres na si Sunshine Cruz na ang grupo nila ang dahilan kung bakit na-bump off umano ang ilang pasahero ng isang airline company sa kanilang business class seats patungong Bali, Indonesia.
Kasalukuyang nasa Bali sina Sunshine at mga anak, Ruffa Gutierrez at mga anak, Raymond Gutierrez, Bubbles Paraiso, at iba pa nilang mga kaibigan.
Sa Instagram kagabi, April 3, 2023, nag-post si Sunshine ng larawan niya kasama ang mga anak na sina Sam, Angelina, at Chesca na kuha sa Bali.
Simpleng caption niya, “Bali with my girls [coconut, desert island, umbrella emojis]”
View this post on Instagram
Ngayong Martes, April 4, isang netizen ang diretsong tinanong si Sunshine kung ang grupo ba nila na nagbabakasyon sa Bali ang tinutukoy sa kumalat na “CELEBRITY FAMILY is flying and our seats were given to them” post.
Hindi "bumped off" ang terminong ginamit ng netizen kundi tumutukoy ang kanyang tanong sa "offloading."
Usisa ng netizen kay Sunshine: “Kayo po ba ung VIP daw ng PAL? Kaya may hindi nakalipad na commoner?”
Paglilinaw ng aktres, isang buwan nang kumpirmado ang booking nila.
Aniya, “Booked and paid since 1st week of march.”
THE "BUMPED OFF" POST
Nag-ugat ang tanong ng netizen kay Sunshine dahil sa post ng isa pang netizen na diumano’y na-bump off siya at ang kanyang mga kasamahan sa business class sa Philippine Airlines patungong Bali.
Bahagi ng post ng nagrereklamong netizen: “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, PHILIPPINE AIRLINES???!!! I bought our tickets back in September 2022 to Bali so my daughter and I can be with our family and friends for Holy Week.”
Ayon pa sa netizen, nag-online check-in siya at nakakuha na ng kanilang boarding pass at numero ng mga upuan.
Ngunit laking gulat daw niya nang sabihan siya sa counter na bumped off sila—o inilipat sa mas mababang cabin class, either economy or premium economy— dahil “a CELEBRITY FAMILY is flying and our seats were given to them????”
Hindi rin daw siya basta-basta maa-appease ng free ticket dahil sa pangyayari.
Ano raw ba ang karapatan ng airline upang i-bump off sila nang walang pasabi dahil lamang sa “family of celebrities are on the same flight??????”
Halos isang oras umano siya sa counter ngunit wala raw nakipag-usap sa kanya mula sa airline company.
Himutok ng netizen: “From what I heard – one of these celebs bought an economy ticket and didn’t want to get seated all the way back or at the exit row…so PAL Supervisor decided to upgrade him. WOW.”
Sa comments section ng post, may netizens na nagkomento na ang “celebrity family” na tinutukoy umano ng nag-post ay ang grupo nina Sunshine, Ruffa, Raymond, Bubbles, at iba pa.
Hindi na makikita ang post na ito ng netizen sa Facebook.
PAL OFFICER RESPONDS TO NETIZEN
Sumagot naman sa post ng netizen ang isang taga-airline company.
Paliwanag ng opisyal, hindi kasama sa kanilang polisiya na i-bump off ang ilang pasahero para sa “high-profile travelers."
Bahagi ng kanyang paliwanag: “We want to emphasize that our policy and practice do not involve bumping off passengers to make room for high-profile travelers.”
Dito na idinetalye ng airline official ang buong pangyayari:
“Two Business Class transit passengers from connecting flight missed their flight to Bali yesterday and the reason was attributable to PAL, which resulted in some overbooking on our flight today.
“To manage the situation, we reached out to our Business Class passengers and asked if anyone would be willing to switch to a different cabin class at check-in.
“This was, of course, accompanied by due compensation. We would like to clarify that all business class passengers, including the passengers you mentioned, were offered this opportunity.
“You were identified for downgrade being the last business class passenger to check-in.
“Fortunately, two passengers accepted the offer, which allowed you and the rest of the business class passengers to keep you original class of service.”
Lumalabas na hindi naman pala na-bump off ang nagrereklamong netizen sa kanilang original business class seats at natuloy rin ang kanilang biyahe sa kung ano ang nakasaad sa kanilang tickets.