Air travel costs are expected to surge starting early August as the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) raised the allowable airline fuel surcharge to Level 13, up from the current Level 8.
Under the new Level 13 matrix, airlines may charge a fuel surcharge ranging from ₱423 to ₱1,237 for domestic destinations and ₱1,396.74 to ₱10,385.42 for international routes, depending on distance traveled.
This represents a sharp increase from the Level 8 rates applied during the July 16–31 period, which ranged from ₱253 to ₱787 for domestic flights and ₱835.05 to ₱6,208.98 for international journeys.
Fuel surcharges are optional fees layered onto base airfares to help carriers mitigate volatility in global jet fuel prices. To cushion passengers from sudden price swings, the CAB observes a 15-day monitoring and implementation window for adjusting fuel surcharge rates.
Addressing the rate hike, low-cost carrier AirAsia Philippines noted that rising global fuel costs continue to put pressure on operational expenses.
”We continue to find ways to keep travel as accessible as possible without compromising the safety and reliability of flights,” the airline said in a statement.
AirAsia added that under the Level 13 implementation, fuel surcharges across its route network will fall between ₱1,237 and ₱10,385.82, depending on the passenger’s destination.
The CAB set the foreign exchange conversion rate for the Level 13 surcharge computation at ₱61.65 to $1.