LOW-COST airline Philippines AirAsia, Inc. will be implementing a fuel surcharge increase starting July 1 due to the rising fuel costs, its top official said.
“All airlines right now are following the CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board) with regards to the fuel surcharge increase,” Philippines AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Ricardo P. Isla said in an ABS-CBN News Channel interview.
“The fuel surcharge that we have to charge will be between P350 to about P1,050,” he added.
He said the airline will try to balance the higher fuel surcharge with promotions for both domestic and international flights.
“Fuel covers about 30% to 35% of our costs. We just have to be very cautious on how we will be implementing this based on the CAB guidelines,” he noted.
Whether this will be sufficient for the company to offset the fuel costs, he said: “There is a regular review with all airline companies, namely with the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines. As part of this regular review, we will be looking at the possibility of another increase depending on the impact of the fuel price increase.”
In June, airlines were allowed to collect fuel surcharge under Level 7 or the highest level in a fuel surcharge matrix approved by the CAB.
Under Level 7, the fuel surcharge per passenger ranged from P201 to P769 for domestic flights in June, higher than the P108 to P411 fuel surcharge for domestic flights in May. — Arjay L. Balinbin
