Tacloban to Manila for P77K One Way: Here’s Why the DOTr is Filing Economic Sabotage Charges Vs. AirAsia Move

AirAsia Move, the online travel platform affiliated with AirAsia, is facing criminal charges of economic sabotage from the Department of Transportation over alleged price gouging.  

According to DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon, the online travel agency (OTA) was charging fares as high as P77,704 for a one-way ticket from Tacloban to Manila for two passengers. This was several times higher than the average price offered by other airlines like Philippine Airlines (PAL), which charges around P12,000. The fares were allegedly being offered during a period when the San Juanico Bridge, which connects the islands of Samar and Leyte, was partially closed for heavy vehicles, including passenger buses. 

“This is totally unacceptable,” Dizon said. “This is just absurd and really it’s criminal.”

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) had issued an immediate cease and desist (CD) order dated May 26 against AirAsia Move for allegedly selling airline tickets of other carriers at prices exceeding the fare ceilings set by regulators. 

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In response, representatives of AirAsia Move said the company is not under CAB’s jurisdiction, because it is a foreign-based online travel agency.

However, CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla defended the agency’s enforcement actions, stating that its jurisdiction is based on the subject matter—fare regulations—and not solely on the nature of the company.  

“There is such a thing as the doctrine of necessary implication,” Arcilla explained. “If our fare ceilings are violated, they come within our enforcement proceedings.” He further clarified that the pricing behavior observed constituted price gouging, which is defined as unjustifiably increasing rates during periods of abnormal demand; in this case, due to a transport disruption in Tacloban.

“We find a very compelling reason to issue the cease and desist due to confluence of events,” he said. 

The DOTr said it plans to finalize and file the case within the week, with requests already to take down AirAsia Move’s booking access points.

“We will put the full force of the government and the law against these unscrupulous online platforms,” Dizon said.

Meanwhile AirAsia Move said it “welcomes the opportunity to proactively engage with relevant authorities to provide clarity on the issue and asks for due process to take its course for the benefit of all passengers booked via the platform,” according to the company’s CEO Nadia Omar.

Omar said the fare discrepancy was due to “temporary data synchronization issues” with a third-party pricing partner and noted that the glitch also affected other platforms. She added that the company had taken immediate corrective actions, engaged with its pricing provider, and implemented enhanced safeguards to prevent similar incidents. 

“(AirAsia Move) has been working closely with relevant authorities and is fully compliant with all regulatory requirements applicable” to OTAs operating in the Philippines, it said.