Plane fares poised to rise in Sept on higher fuel costs

MANILA  -Airline passengers will see a spike in their fares next month as the regulator approved a higher fuel surcharge after three months of no adjustments.

In an advisory, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) announced that the fuel surcharge for September would be Level 6, higher than the current year-to-date low of Level 4.

This was the first time this year that CAB raised the rate since it began bringing down the surcharge in April. So far this year, Level 7 was the highest rate implemented back in January and March.

Under Level 6, passengers of domestic flights will pay fuel surcharge of P185 to P665 each while those flying abroad will be charged an additional P610.37 to P4,538.40.

These are costlier compared to Level 4 that imposes additional P117 to P342 for domestic flights and P385.70 to P2,867.82 for flights abroad.

Fuel surcharges are additional fees imposed by airlines to help them recover fuel costs.

These are added to the base fare, which is the actual amount paid by the passenger for his or her seat.

Local airlines said they would comply with the new fuel surcharge rates.

“Despite the increase in fuel surcharge, Cebu Pacific remains committed to providing accessible and affordable air travel to our passengers through our seat sales,” Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer Xander Lao said. INQ