Airfares to go down in September

Airfares are expected to go down next month as the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) lowered the fuel surcharge that local carriers are allowed to collect.

The CAB, in a resolution on Tuesday, brought down to Level 9 the passenger and cargo fuel surcharge for September from the current Level 12.

This means the fuel surcharge collected from passengers will go down to a range of P287 to P839 per person for domestic flights under Level 9, from P389 to P1,137 per passenger under Level 12.

For international flights, the fuel surcharge was brought down to a range of  P947.39 to  P7,044.27  from P1,284.40 to P9,550.13  previously.

The regulator slashed the fuel surcharges after the price of jet fuel averaged lower at P46.73 per liter  based on its latest monitoring from P54.73 per liter previously.

For passengers flying from Manila to Caticlan and Kalibo, the fuel surcharge will be P410 while flights from Manila to Iloilo, Bacolod and Puerto Princesa, the amount will be P571 per person.  The fuel surcharge for flights from Manila to Dumaguete, Tagbilaran, Surigao and Siargao will be P726 per person.

Passengers flying to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia and Brunei will be paying a fuel surcharge of  P947.39. The applicable fuel surcharge for flights to Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Guam is P1,310.26 while airlines may collect P6,708.83 for flights to North America, United Kingdom and Netherlands.

Fuel surcharges are additional fees that airlines are allowed to collect to offset higher fuel costs. These are separate from the base fare, which is the actual amount paid by the passenger for his or her seat.

As for cargo fuel surcharge, which is collected on a per-kilogram basis, it amounts to P1.47 to P4.31 for domestic flights and P4.87 to P36.21 for international flights under Level 9 from P2 to P5.85 for domestic flights and P6.60 to P49.09 for international flights under Level 12.

Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia Philippines welcomed the lowering of fuel surcharges as this will ease the financial burden of their passengers and clients.

“We look forward to the lower fuel surcharge which should help make fares more affordable and stimulate air travel,” said Xander Lao, chief commercial officer of Cebu Pacific.

Steve Dailisan, spokesperson for AirAsia, said “this will benefit many of our guests who are now planning their travels in time for the -ber months.”

Cielo Villaluna, spokesperson for PAL, added that the “new fuel surcharge rate will be applicable to tickets that will be purchased in September.” INQ