Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific said it started collecting fuel surcharge from all its domestic and international flights.
“We implemented it last week based on the fare matrix. I think it was last Wednesday,” said Alexander Lao, president and chief executive of Cebgo, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cebu Pacific.
“We can only implement based on what the matrix said. It’s P74 up to P1,200. For the shortest destinations, Cebu to Bacolod, it’s P74 . For Manila to Cebu, it’s P170. We cant go over [that],” he said.
The fuel surcharge is P1,425 for flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Dubai.
The Civil Aeronautics Board said in a resolution the fuel surcharge for passengers of one-way domestic flights would range between P34 and P769, while those flying overseas would be charged P163 to P9,680, depending on the destination and the prevailing jet fuel prices.
Data from CAB showed that jet fuel prices went up by 25 percent to $85.16 per barrel in April from $63.66 a barrel in the same period last year.
The agency said the fuel surcharge was not a part of the basic airfare and could be reduced or removed depending on the price of jet fuel in the market, in accordance with prevailing international practice.
The CAB suspended the imposition of fuel surcharge in all domestic and international flights in 2015 because of lower jet fuel prices.
A fuel surcharge is a temporary relief granted to airlines to help them recover losses incurred from higher jet fuel prices.
Fuel accounts for about 50 percent of an airline’s operating cost and is the second-highest expense next to labor.