Lower airfares seen in June as CAB cuts fuel surcharge
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has lowered fuel surcharges on passenger airlines to a record low, which may encourage more people to book flights due to lower fares.
In an advisory on Wednesday, the regulator downgraded the fuel surcharge to Level 3 from the current Level 4 for the month of June.
Under Level 3, passengers will pay an additional P83 to P300 for domestic flights and between P273.36 and P2,032.54 for international flights.
These fees are lower compared to Level 4 rates: P117 to P342 for domestic flights and P385.70 to P2,867.82 for flights overseas.
Fuel surcharges are additional fees imposed by airlines to help them recover fuel costs. These are separate from the base fare, which is the actual amount paid by passengers for their plane seats.
Under Level 3, passengers going to Caticlan, Legaspi, Kalibo and Roxas are charged an additional P133 for fuel surcharge, while those flying to Laoag, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu and Puerto Princesa will pay P179.
Airlines will collect fuel surcharge of P234 for flights to Dumaguete, Tagbilaran, Siargao and Cagayan and P271 for flights to Zamboanga, Cotabato and Davao.
The applicable fuel surcharge for flights to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Cambodia will be P273.36; China, P371.15; and Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, P378.06.
Those flying to Indonesia, Japan and South Korea will pay fuel surcharge amounting to P425.24; Australia and Middle East, P940.59; and North America and the United Kingdom, P1,935.75.
Airlines have been increasing their flights for both local and international destinations and expanding aircraft fleet size in a bid to get bigger shares of air passenger volume.
Among the popular destinations for the carriers are Vietnam and Japan, as well as Boracay and Siargao.
Cebu Pacific is expecting to receive seven aircraft this year after beefing up its fleet with 17 units in 2024.
Philippine Airlines (PAL), on the other hand, is expecting delivery of 13 Airbus 321-231 neo (new engine option) aircraft between 2026 and 2029.
