Senior citizens and Persons with Disability (PWD) may soon avail of a 20 percent discount when booking a domestic flight online.
The Department of Transportation – Civil Aeronautics Board (DOTr-CAB) approved Thursday, July 13, a resolution requiring local airlines to give a 20 percent discount on tickets purchased via the carrier's website or a mobile application. Prior to this, the discount was only applied to face to face transactions.
Under the resolution, senior citizens, PWDs, or their representatives must input the passenger’s details including date of birth and ID number indicated in the Senior Citizen or PWD card.
CAB directed airlines to establish in their websites the necessary system to be able to process the 20 percent discount based on the actual fare, including promotional fares that were directly sold by the airlines. The discount, however, shall not cover lawful taxes and other fees and charges imposed in relation to domestic air travel.
A breakdown and summary of the amount to be paid must be known to the Senior Citizen or PWD before the completion of the transaction. The document confirming the passenger’s seat reservation or booking must likewise indicate that the passenger was granted the 20 percent discount for proper verification at the check-in counter.
Passengers who avail of the discount must present necessary identification upon check-in.
The resolution will take effect 15 days after publication. After which, airlines will be given two months from date of effectivity to develop and fully implement a virtual system that would apply the discount on online transactions.
The discount shall not be applicable to tickets sold by virtue of indirect or external sales promotions which contain promises of gain, such as through winning in a contest, game, and other similar competitions which involve determination of winner/s.
