MANILA, Philippines — Airline passengers will have to pay more for their tickets next month after the Civil Aeronautics Board approved a higher fuel surcharge.
In an advisory, the regulator announced that it raised the fuel surcharge to Level 7 for November from the current Level 6.
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.
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.
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Next month, 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 an 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.
Low-cost carrier AirAsia Philippines said it was offering discounted flight rates to mitigate the impact of the fuel surcharge.
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“AirAsia guests can also seek further relief from the anticipated adjustments in ticket prices brought about by the volatility of global fuel prices by advance booking, especially for future travels as travel and vacation time peak in the remaining months of the fourth quarter for many Filipinos,” said Steve Dailisan, AirAsia Philippines country head for communications.
“We encourage our customers to book their flights ahead to avail of more affordable fares,” Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer Xander Lao added.
Airlines have been gearing up for the increasing passenger movement by beefing up their flight capacities for both local and international destinations.