Cheaper plane fares await passengers next month

Inquirer file photo/Richard A. Reyes

MANILA, Philippines — Plane fares will again go down next month with the lowering of the fuel surcharge to its lowest level since August last year, a welcome development that is seen to further boost travel during the holiday season.

In an advisory, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) announced that the fuel surcharge has been downgraded to level 4 for October from the current level 5, the second consecutive month the regulator implemented a cut.

Passengers will pay P117 to P342 for domestic flights and P385.70 to P2,867.82 in fuel surcharge for flights abroad under level 4.

READ: Cheaper plane fares coming in Sept with fuel surcharge cuts

These are lower compared to the level 5 rates of P151 to P542 for domestic flights and P498.03 to P3,703.11 for international flights.

Savings

The fuel surcharge level was switching between levels 5 and 6 earlier this year, or the lower band of the 20-tier system used by the CAB.

Fuel surcharges are additional fees by airlines to help them recover fuel costs and are separate from the base fare, or the amount paid by passengers for their seats.

Under level 4, passengers going to Caticlan, Legazpi, Kalibo, and Roxas are charged an additional P184, lower than the P238 this month. Those flying to Laoag, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, and Puerto Princesa will pay only P232 in fuel surcharge from P316.

Airlines will collect a fuel surcharge of P296 (from P418) for flights to Dumaguete, Tagbilaran, Siargao, and Cagayan and P318 (from P487) for flights to Zamboanga, Cotabato and Davao.

The applicable fuel surcharge next month for flights to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Cambodia will be P385.70, down from P498.03.

Fuel surcharge for flights to China dropped to P523.68 from P676.20, while flights to Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia will be charged P533.42, down from P688.79.

More flights readied

Those flying to Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea will pay a fuel surcharge of P600, cheaper than P774.75 this month; Australia and the Middle East, P1,327.14 (from P1,713.68), and North America and the United Kingdom, P2,731.26 (from P3,526.77).

The lower rates will be timely given the holiday season when passenger volume, along with consumer spending, usually picks up.

In the last quarter, more flights are expected to be launched as airlines cash in on the surging demand for air travel.

Philippine Airlines (PAL), for instance, is set to fly its maiden Manila-Seattle flights—to be offered thrice weekly—next month.

This will be PAL’s sixth route to the United States, where the flag carrier currently flies to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Honolulu, and Guam. The new route can also serve as a gateway to Washington and Oregon.

Cebu Pacific will also open next month the Cebu-Osaka, Iloilo-Singapore, Iloilo-Hong Kong, Manila-Chiang Mai, and Davao-Bangkok flights.

Budget-carrier AirAsia Philippines will introduce the Manila-Nagoya route next month, adding a new destination to Japan to its current Tokyo and Osaka routes.

International carriers United Airlines will launch its San Francisco-Narita-Cebu flights, while Qantas Airways will service the Brisbane-Manila route in October as well.

Starting in December, Air France will operate the much-awaited Manila-Paris direct flights.