Local airlines’ fuel surcharge to rise next month

THE Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has increased the airline fuel surcharge for March.

The fuel surcharge, which is added to the base fare, was increased to Level 6 from Level 5 in February, the agency said in an advisory signed by CAB Executive Director Carmelo L. Arcilla.

“Airlines wishing to impose or collect fuel surcharge for the same period must file its application with this office on or before the effectivity period, with fuel surcharge rates not exceeding the above-stated level,” CAB said in an advisory over the weekend.

At Level 6, the domestic passenger surcharge ranges from P185 to P665, while the international surcharge ranges from P610.37 to P4,538.40.

The CAB said the applicable conversion rate for March is P56.14 to the dollar.

At the current Level 5, domestic passenger surcharge ranges from P151 to P542, while for international flights, the surcharge varies between P498.03 and P3,703.11.

Airline fuel surcharge is an optional fee, collected and imposed by airlines to recover fuel costs. It is based on the movements in jet fuel prices, using a benchmark known as MOPS (Mean of Platts Singapore).

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific has encouraged passengers to book their flights ahead to take advantage of the lower fuel surcharge.

“Despite the increase in fuel surcharge, Cebu Pacific will continue to offer great value to our passengers through our seat sales that help keep air travel affordable and accessible. We enjoin our passengers to book their flights ahead of time to take advantage of low fares,” Alexander G. Lao, Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer, said in a Viber message.

BusinessWorld sought comments from flag carrier Philippine Airlines and lowcost airline Air Asia but has yet to receive comments as of the deadline. —