Gov’t okays 2nd plane fuel surcharge in a year

Mactan-Cebu International Airport. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa

MANILA, Philippines — Passengers will have to pay more for their plane rides next month after the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) imposed a higher fuel surcharge to be collected by the airlines amid rising jet fuel prices.

In a recent advisory, the CAB announced that the fuel surcharge in March will be raised to Level 7 from the current Level 6.

This is the second time the CAB approved a fuel surcharge within seven months since August last year, when it was pegged at Level 12 from Level 11 the previous month. It has been on a downward trend until this latest announcement.

For Level 7, passengers will pay a fuel surcharge of P219 to P739 for domestic flights and P722.71 to P5,373.69 for international flights.

These rates are higher compared to Level 6 pricing: P185 to P665 for passengers flying locally; and P610.37 to P4,538.40 for those boarding international flights.

Fuel surcharges are additional fees by airlines to help them recover fuel costs. These are separate from the base fare, which is the actual amount paid by the passenger for his or her seat.

In March, passengers flying from Manila to Caticlan, Legaspi, Kalibo and Roxas will pay a fuel surcharge of P346 while those going to Iloilo, Bacolod, Tacloban and Puerto Princesa will be charged P459.

Applicable fuel surcharge for flights from Manila to Dumaguete, Tagbilaran, Surigao and Siargao is P608; and to Zamboanga, Cotabato and Davao, P689. Those booking Manila-General Santos and Clark-Davao flights will pay additional P739.

Under Level 7, airlines will collect fuel surcharges of P722.71 from passengers going to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam. Those flying to China will be charged P981.26; Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, P999.52; Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, P1,124.26; and Australia and the Middle East, P2,486.77.

Steve Dailisan, AirAsia Philippines head of communications and public affairs, explained that the increase in jet fuel prices might be demand-driven given the further reopening of the global economy. “We are confident that the slight increase in fuel surcharge will have little or no significant effect on the booking behavior among our guests,” he added.

Philippine Airlines spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said they would comply with the CAB advisory set to take effect next month. She added that the flag carrier would continue to ramp up its flights following the reopening of its China network.

“Despite the uptick in fuel surcharge, Cebu Pacific remains committed to providing great value to our passengers through our seat sale activities,” Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer Xander Lao said.

The Gokongwei-led airline encouraged passengers “to book their travels ahead of time to avail of low fares.”

Airlines have been gearing up for the anticipated momentum of passenger movement with the further reopening of borders by increasing their flight capacities for both local and international destinations.

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