Airfares expected to increase in March due to fuel surcharge increase
Attention, travel junkies: Book your flights ahead because higher plane tickets are expected to be imposed in March following the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) increase of fuel surcharge for the first time this year.
In an advisory, CAB said that the fuel surcharge will be raised to level 6 from the current level 5 in the following month.
Under this rate, the fuel surcharge for domestic flights will range from P185 to P665, while international trips could have extra fees from P610 to P4,538, depending on the distance.
This is significantly higher compared to the current level 5, where the fuel surcharge for domestic flights ranges from PHP151 to PHP542, and PHP498 to PHP3,703 for international flights.
For flights paid in foreign currency, airlines are advised to follow the conversion rate of P56.14 to $1.
According to CAB Legal Division Chief Wyrlou Samodio, the effect of the increase in fuel surcharge on the prices of plane tickets will still depend on the airlines.
In case they impose an increase in their flight rates, Samodio reminded that airlines must follow the price matrix set for air ticket prices and submit an application for collecting fuel surcharge on or before the effectivity period.
Fuel surcharges are additional fees to the base fares that help airline companies cover costs and cope with the ever-changing prices of jet fuel.