Fuel surcharge to raise airfares
Regulators have allowed airlines to impose fuel surcharges as oil prices continue to increase.
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) in Resolution 44 that detailed a surcharge matrix, noted that carriers had asked for the reimposition of fuel surcharges — scrapped in 2015 — given spiraling fuel costs.
Adjustments will be based on the flight distance and cost of fuel.
Domestic flights of no more than 200 kilometers, for example, will carry an additional charge of P34 if fuel prices exceed P21 but not more than P23 per liter, rising to P201 if fuel costs hit P39 to less than P42/liter.
The surcharge for domestic flights of more than 1,001 kms will range from P132 to as much as P769.
For international flights, the surcharge will range from P163 (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Cambodia, Brunei) to as much as P9,860 for travelers going to North America and the United Kingdom.
Surcharges will be revised as necessary “based on the two-month average of jet fuel Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) prices in its peso per liter equivalent, and will be fixed for two months,” the resolution states.
Airlines were required to evaluate fuel surcharges every two months and inform the public 15 days before implementing the adjustment.
The matrix’s release was in line with the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) plan to produce a template that would allow carriers to impose fuel surcharges without the need to seek approval for every adjustment.
“If fuel prices rise, hike the surcharge. If it goes down, lower the surcharge. If it’s no longer needed, remove the surcharge,” Transportation Undersecretary for Aviation Manuel Antonio Tamayo said in July.
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