The Civil Aeronautics Board said Wednesday airline passengers can expect cheaper airfare next month on lower fuel surcharge.
CAB executive-director Carmelo Arcilla said jet fuel prices averaged P42.87 a liter from Sept. 10 to Oct. 9, which corresponds to Level 8 of the passenger and cargo fuel surcharge matrix in November.
The CAB said that under Level 8 of the new passenger fuel surcharge matrix, airlines are allowed to collect fuel surcharge of P253 to P787 for domestic flights and P835.05 to P6,208.98 for international flights.
It said that for cargo fuel surcharge, airlines are allowed to charge P1.30 to P3.80 per kilogram for domestic flights under Level 8 and P4.29 to P31.92 per kg for international flights.
“Airlines wishing to impose or collect fuel surcharge must file its application with CAB on or before the effectivity period, with fuel surcharge rates not exceeding the above-stated level,” Arcilla said.
The CAB said airline fuel surcharge is an optional fee, imposed and collected by airlines to recover fuel costs and stem losses caused by upward spikes in fuel cost.
It said fuel surcharge is not a part of the basic airfare and maybe reduced or removed depending on the price of jet fuel in the market.
Data from CAB showed that air passenger volume in the Philippines reached 13.17 million from January to June, up from 2.95 million passengers in 2021.
Domestic passenger volume reached 9.69 million in six-month period, up from 2 million passengers a year ago.
International passenger traffic totaled 3.48 million in the first half, higher than 957,573 passengers served in the same period last year. International passengers reached only 2.19 million in the whole of 2021.