MANILA - Air travelers can expect cheaper tickets next month as the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) lowers fuel surcharges to Level 6 for February 2023 from the prevailing Level 7.
Fuel surcharge rates have been on a downward trend since peaking at Level 11 in July 2022.
A Level 6 fuel surcharge will mean that passengers purchasing flight tickets for the month of February will only be charged a fuel surcharge of P610.37 for international flights to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, or Brunei; or P4,538.40 to destinations more than 14,000 kilometers from the Philippines.
For domestic flights, passengers will only be charged a fuel surcharge of P185 to P665, depending on the distance.
CAB says the fuel surcharge rate was lowered due to a decrease in jet fuel prices monitored from December 2, 2022 to January 9, 2023. The advisory noted that jet fuel averaged P38.92 per liter, which corresponds to Level 6 of the Passenger and Cargo Fuel Surcharge Matrix.
“(The trend is) downward so far, and we hope it continues. But the global supply and prices are still very unstable because of the ongoing war and sanctions,” CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla III said.
The applicable fuel surcharge level, which is the ceiling rate for fuel surcharge, is determined based on the two-month average of jet fuel MOPS (Mean of Platts Singapore) prices in its peso-per-liter equivalent.
In the advisory, CAB said that airlines wishing to impose or collect fuel surcharge for the same period must file their application on or before the effectivity period, with fuel surcharge rates not exceeding the allowed level.
Airlines are also allowed to collect fuel surcharge rates that are lower than the stated level if they choose to do so, depending on how they want to compete with other carriers.
RELATED VIDEO