Foreign carriers seek higher fuel surcharge

MANILA, Philippines - More foreign airlines are seeking the green light from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to raise the fuel surcharge imposed on their passengers amid the rising price of aviation fuel in the world market.

In separate petitions filed before the CAB, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd. are seeking authority anew to impose another round of upward adjustment of fuel surcharge on international passenger tickets.

Cathay Pacific and DragonAir seek to impose a 6.8 percent increase in fuel surcharge to $131.7 per passenger from $123.3 for flights between Hong Kong and South West Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and South Asian sub-continent including same day transit within 24 hours in Bangkok or Singapore.

Both airlines also intend to raise the fuel surcharge for other flights by 5.2 percent to $32.6 per passenger from $31 per passenger.

Early last month, the CAB gave Cathay Pacific and DragonAir the green light to raise fuel surcharge six percent to $123.3 per passenger from $116.4 for flight coupons between Hong Kong and South West Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and South Asian sub-continent including same day transit within 24 hours in Bangkok or Singapore.

The regulator also approved the airlines’ request to raise the fuel surcharge for other flights by 8.7 percent to $31 per passenger from $29.1 per passenger.

Cathay Pacific flies along the Hong Kong-Manila route 37 times a week and seven times between Hong Kong and Cebu City while DragonAir has daily flights between Clark Freeport and Hong Kong as well as services the Manila-Hong Kong route seven times a week.

Meanwhile, the CAB is set to hear the petition filed by Emirates to impose higher fuel surcharge ranging between $15 and $30 on on flights to the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Middle East, West Asia, Indian Ocean, Africa, Europe, and the US on May 7.

Emirates intends to impose a $15 increase on the fuel surcharge to $155 from $140 on economy class passengers and a $30 increase to $300 from $270 on business class passengers going to GCC and Middle East.

The airline would also raise the fuel surcharge by $15 to $170 from $155 on economy class passengers and $30 to $330 from $300 on business class passengers of flights going to West Asia, the Indian Ocean, Africa, and Europe.

Emirates also intends to slap a $20 increase to $175 from $155 on economy class passengers to the Americas and a $40 increase to $340 from $300 on business class flights to Africa.

Emirates is set to begin daily, non-stop flights from Dubai to the Clark International

Airport in Pampanga starting Oct. 1. Clark would be the airline’s second destination in the Philippines on top of the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila.

The CAB allows airlines to impose fuel surcharge on international and domestic passengers as a temporary relief to help them recover losses arising from the increase in jet fuel prices in the world market.

Latest results of the Jet Fuel Price Monitor of the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) showed that the price of jet fuel averaged $127.2 per barrel as of March 15 nearing the full year target of $132.8 per barrel set by IATA.