Air fares stable ahead of holiday travel rush

Air fares should remain stable in October ahead of the peak Undas and Christmas holidays with government maintaining the fuel surcharge unchanged.

According to the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), fuel surcharge remains at Level 4 for the third consecutive month in October, keeping fares stable ahead of holiday travels.

At Level 4, airlines can collect a fuel surcharge of P117 to P342 for domestic flights and P385.7 to P2,867.82 for international trips, depending on the distance.

Based on the monitor of the International Air Transport Association, jet fuel prices have risen by two percent to $89.33 per barrel as of Sept. 12, from a month ago. In Asia-Pacific, prices are going up as well, reaching $86.46 a barrel.

Airlines are anticipating flight demand to balloon in the fourth quarter, as Filipinos tend to travel during the holidays of Undas in November and Christmas in December.

In response, they are scaling up flight frequencies starting October to give travelers more options when booking a trip.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) is increasing Manila services to Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Dumaguete, Legazpi and Tacloban – some of its busiest domestic destinations.

PAL is also upgrading the aircraft for its Manila-Iloilo flights to Airbus A330 from Dec. 8 to March 28, 2026. Rabbi Vincent Ang, president of PAL Express, said the carrier is set to operate 1,154 flights per week out of Manila starting October.

This capacity is seven percent higher than PAL’s usual level. PAL’s additional flights will jack up its seating capacity to more than 14,000 weekly, allowing it to ferry more guests.

“By expanding our domestic flight route network through increased frequency of flights, we are able to efficiently cater to the needs of our travelers,” Ang said.

Prior to this, Cebu Pacific announced a series of frequency increases for most of its domestic and international flights from Manila in time for the holidays.