Plane fares going down in November as fuel surcharges cut

More than 4 billion people took to the skies in 2017, says IATA. Image: istock.com/egorych via AFP Relaxnews

MANILA, Philippines — Plane fares will be cheaper next month as airlines were directed to collect lower fuel surcharges following the decline in the prices of jet fuel.

In an advisory on Wednesday, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) set the November fuel surcharge that the airlines can collect at Level 8, a downgrade from Level 9 this month.

Under Level 8, passengers will pay a fuel surcharge of P253 to P787 each for domestic flights depending on the distance. The additional charges for international flights, meanwhile, range from P835.05 to P6,208.98 per passenger.

These are lower than the Level 9 levels of P287 to P839 each for domestic flights and P947.39 to P7,044.27 for international flights.

At Level 8, passengers will pay next month a fuel surcharge of P361 for flights from Manila to Caticlan, Kalibo and Roxas while P503 will be collected for those flying to Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, and Puerto Princesa. The fuel surcharge for flights from Manila to Zamboanga, Cotabato, and Davao amounts to P708.

Flights from the Philippines to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Vietnam will have a fuel surcharge of P835.05 per passenger. Passengers flying to Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Guam will pay an additional P1,154.89; while those going to North America and the United Kingdom, P5,913.31.

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.

According to the CAB’s monitoring, the price of jet fuel averaged at P42.87 per liter from Sept. 10 to Oct. 9. This was lower than the P47.27 average price in the previous reading.

The local carriers see the latest development as a demand driver for travel during the holiday season.

“This piece of good news comes at a time when we are increasing flight capacity across our domestic and international routes,” Philippine Airlines (PAL) spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said.

PAL said earlier that an increase in passenger numbers was anticipated by mid-October up to January amid the holiday season. The flag carrier projects the restoration of 86 percent of its prepandemic flight capacity by December.