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THE
Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) on Tuesday approved an
application of Cebu Pacific Air to hike fuel surcharge
for every one-way ticket to other countries.
This, as
rival Philippine Airlines (PAL), which recently obtained
the CAB’s go-ahead to raise fuel surcharges for domestic
and international operations, announced the expansion of
its PAL Express services. In all, the 10 new routes
being added from July 1 to August 1 represent a more
than doubling of PAL Express’s network in the space of
one month.
Cebu
Pacific now imposes a fuel surcharge of $70 for flights
to China; to Macau, $50; to Indonesia and Japan, $85
each; and Thailand, $65.
Fuel
fees for its Manila-Hong Kong flights cost $50; Cebu to
Hong Kong, $55; and Davao to Hong Kong, $60.
Flights
to Singapore from Manila and Cebu now have a fuel
surcharge of $50, while the Davao-to-Singapore fuel
surcharge costs $60.
Cebu
Pacific’s fuel surcharge for the Manila-Taipei route now
costs $50, while its Manila-Kaohsiung route went up to
$46.
Fuel
fees for its Manila-Hanoi route increased to $60, and
$65 for the Manila-Saigon route; Manila-Kuala Lumpur,
$60; and Manila-Kota Kinabalu, $57.
The CAB
allowed Cebu Pacific to implement the new rates for
three months from July 9 to October 8 this year. If Cebu
Pacific wants to apply the same rates for another three
months, w it would have to file another application at
least 15 days before October
8. Cebu Pacific has not sought an increase in fuel
surcharge for its domestic operations.
Rival
PAL recently applied for similar adjustment for its
domestic cargo operations.
Once
approved, the surcharge will go up to P3 a kilogram for
Luzon, to P4 for the Visayas and to P5 for Mindanao.
PAL
recently obtained the go-ahead of the CAB to raise fuel
surcharges for its domestic and international
operations.
The fuel
fee for PAL’s Luzon-Visayas flights now costs P1,030
from P930; and P1,010 from P910 for Luzon to Mindanao.
PAL’s
fuel surcharge for China now costs $58; Indonesia, $74;
Korea, $54; Singapore, $34; Hong Kong and Macau, $40;
and US and Canada, $129.
CAB data
also showed that Southeast Asian Airlines Inc. asked for
an additional P150 fuel surcharge for its 20
destinations nationwide.
The fuel
surcharge, imposed on top of regular fares, is a
temporary relief given by regulators to allow airlines
to mitigate losses from the spiraling cost of jet fuel.
Fuel
accounts for a third of an airline’s operating cost per
passenger, and is the second-highest expense next to
labor.
PAL
Express expands service
Meanwhile, PAL Express announced it will begin daily
services to San Jose (Occidental Mindoro), Virac (Catanduanes),
and Surigao City (Surigao del Norte) on July 15.
The
low-fare, turbo-propeller unit of Philippine Airlines
added that it will start servicing Calbayog (Samar) by
July 17 with four flights weekly and Catarman (Northern
Samar ) by August 1 with three flights weekly.
The
76-seater Bombardier Q400 turbo-prop aircraft will be
deployed on four of the new routes except for San Jose,
which will be served by the slightly smaller 50-seater
Bombardier Q300.
The
current “Buy 1, Take 1” promo fare to all jet and
turbo-prop domestic services of PAL will also apply on
them. Promo sale, however, is extended until July 21 for
these new points from the original deadline of July 15
for others.
The
promo offers passengers a free one-way ticket for every
one-way ticket bought, with all fees and surcharges
waived. The complimentary ticket can be used for the
return journey or for another one-way flight. Travel is
valid between July 15 and October 15, 2008.
The
addition of the five points to PAL Express’s Manila-hub
network came on the heels of a similar expansion on July
1, when five routes were launched from the unit’s main
hub at Mactan International Airport in Cebu.
These
were the services between Cebu and Cagayan de Oro, Cebu
and Ozamis, Cebu and Dipolog, Cebu and Zamboanga and
Zamboanga and Davao.
In all,
the 10 new routes being added from July 1 to August 1
represent a more-than-doubling of PAL Express network in
the space of one month. |
