MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos planning to book holiday flights may find cheaper airfares in the second half of August, as the government is lowering the fuel surcharge by a notch.
In an advisory, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) brought down the fuel surcharge to Level 12 for the period of Aug. 16 to 30, from the current Level 13.
At Level 12, airlines may slap a fuel surcharge of P389 to P1,137 on local flights and P1,284.4 to P9,550.13 for international trips, depending on distance.
CAB said carriers wishing to collect the fuel surcharge must submit an application to the office. The agency set the exchange rate at P61.30 to $1 for airlines operating in foreign currencies.
Jet fuel prices jumped to $160.06 per barrel in the closing week of July after dipping to $127.06 two weeks prior. Since then, rates have gone down, settling at $146.93 per barrel as of Aug. 7.
The reduction in fuel surcharge comes at a time when air travel is approaching the holiday season, giving Filipinos the opportunity to book cheaper fares for their Undas and Christmas flights.
Still on aviation development, low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific yesterday announced the resumption of direct flights from Davao to international destinations.
These flights were suspended by the airline to cut fuel consumption, with the decision announced in March after prices picked up due to the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East.
Cebu Pacific will reinstate Davao flights to Hong Kong starting Oct. 25, and to Bangkok via Don Mueang beginning Oct. 26, to widen overseas options for travelers from Mindanao.
Further, Cebu Pacific will increase the frequency of domestic flights from Davao: to Siargao 10 times weekly and to Iloilo 14 times weekly.