THE Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) is keeping the allowable fuel surcharge for airlines unchanged until the end of June as the price of jet fuel around the world starts to stabilize.
In an announcement on its website on Monday, the government regulator said the allowable fuel surcharge that airlines may implement from May 1 to June 30 will stay at Level 2, or an added collection of P45-P171 for domestic flights and P218-P2,076 for international flights, depending on distance.
“For February to March 2019, the price of jet fuel averaged $80.01 per barrel, with the US dollar exchange rate of 52.30 for the same period. This is equivalent to P26.32 per liter, which corresponds to Level 2 of the Passenger Fuel Surcharge Matrix,” the CAB said.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific are two of the local airlines that started collecting fuel surcharges in September to help recoup investments hit by the global hike in jet fuel prices last year.
The CAB started implementing the fuel surcharge matrix in September, which requires a review of global jet fuel prices every two months to determine the allowable surcharge level for the next two months.
A Level 2 surcharge was also allowed by the CAB for the months of March and April. This was previously at Level 3 in January and February, and Level 4 in November and December 2018.
According to the CAB fuel surcharge matrix, once the price of jet fuel goes as low as P21-P24 per liter, a Level 1 fuel surcharge limit will be in place. Once it falls below P21 per liter, the CAB will stop allowing airlines from collecting a surcharge.
The price of jet fuel as of last week was at $82.75 per barrel based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This is approximately P4,275.8 per barrel, or P26 per liter. — Denise A. Valdez
