4 airlines seek surcharge on new routes

MANILA, Philippines - Four foreign and local airlines are seeking the green light from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to impose fuel surcharge on new routes and higher surcharge on existing routes amid the increasing price of aviation fuel in the world market.

In separate petitions before the CAB, budget airline Cebu Air Inc. (Cebu Pacific) is seeking to impose a fuel surcharge of P300 for its Cebu – Tandag route while its newly acquired Tiger Airways Philippines is set to impose a P500 surcharge for its Manila – Cagayan de Oro route.

Cebu Pacific spent $15 million to acquire 100 percent of Tigerair Philippines. It spent $7 million to acquire the 40 percent share of Tiger Airways Singapore Pte Ltd and $8 million for the 60 percent owned by Filipino businessmen in Tigerair Philippines.

Cebu Pacific operates a fleet of 52 aircraft consisting of 10 Airbus A319, 30 A320, four A330, and eight ATR-72 500 aircraft.  It is in the middle of a $4 billion refleeting program involving the acquisition of close to 50 brand new Airbus aircraft. It is scheduled to take delivery of 11 more Airbus A320, 30 A321neo, and two Airbus A330 aircraft between this year and 2021. 

Cebu Pacific is gearing up for possible flights to the US particularly Hawaii and Guam after the US Federal Aviation Administration (US-FAA) upgraded the safety rating of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) back to Category 1 last April 9 after being downgraded to Category 2 in January of 2008.

The company is also looking at flying to London, Paris, and Amsterdam after the European Union lifted a ban preventing the low cost carrier from entering the European airspace early last month.

On the other hand, Magnum Air (Skyjet) Inc. of Dr. Joel Mendoza is seeking the approval of the CAB to impose a fuel surcharge of P2,940 for its Manila – Basco route; P2,613 for its Manila – Caticlan; and P1,960 for its Manila – Busuanga route.

Skyjet utilizes British Aerospace manufactured 4-engine BAE-146 series 200 (94-seater) and series 100 (76-seater) jet aircraft– called a whispering jet for its quiet engines. It first launched flights to Basco, Batanes in December 2012.

Likewise, Air Busan Co. Ltd. is imposing a $5 increase in fuel surcharge to $60 from $55 per sector between Cebu in the Philippines and Busan in Korea.

The CAB allows airlines to impose fuel surcharge on international and domestic passengers as a temporary relief to help them recover losses arising from the increase in jet fuel prices in the world market.

Latest results of the Jet Fuel Price Monitor of the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) showed that the price of jet fuel average increased 2.2 percent to $119.5 per barrel as of June 6 from a year-ago nearing the full year target of $122.9 per barrel set by IATA.