Air Asia Zest Raising Fares in Time for Summer

Philippine travellers may soon have difficulty finding bargain airfares or great travel deals after AirAsia Zest revealed that it will be raising fares to recover from losses triggered by higher jet fuel prices.

zest air
Copyright Photo: Angelo Agcamaran/PPSG
According to an application submitted to the Civil Aeronautics Board, AirAsia Zest is seeking to increase its fuel surcharge on both domestic and international routes. The domestic fuel surcharge is set to increase by P100 while international fuel surcharges are set to rise anywhere from P220 to P1,550. 

Although peso fare promotions offered by local budget carriers are not challenging to find, travellers are often shocked to discover that the amount of fuel surcharges, airline fees, and local taxes amount to far more than the actual cost of the fare. Fuel surcharges alone in international flights can be more than P3,000 each way, placing an immediate damper on the excitement of grabbing a peso promo fare.

AirAsia Zest will be increasing fuel surcharges on the following domestic routes from Manila:
  • Cebu: from P300 to P400
  • Kalibo: from P300 to P400
  • Puerto Princesa: from P300 to P400
  • Tacloban: from P300 to P400
  • Tagbilaran: from P300 to P400
AirAsia Zest will be increasing fuel surcharges on the following international routes from Manila:
  • Kota Kinabalu: from P460 to P650 
  • Kuala Lumpur: from P680 to P900
  • Shanghai: from P680 to P1,600
  • Macau: from P460 to P600
  • Incheon: from P900 to P2,600
Outside of Manila, AirAsia Zest is increasing fares on the following international flights:
  • Cebu - Incheon: from P900 to P2,450 
  • Kalibo - Incheon: from P900 to P2,450
  • Kalibo - Pusan: from P900 to P2,450 
As of April 14, the price of jet fuel was up by 0.9 percent versus the previous year according to the IATA Jet Fuel Price Monitor. Although the price is currently $120.90 per barrel, the International Air Transportation Association expects prices to rise to an average of $123.30 per barrel. As fuel accounts for up to sixty percent of an airline's operating costs per passenger, the Civil Aeronautics Board permits carriers to impose a fuel surcharge as temporary relief to recover from rising jet fuel prices.

3 comments:

  1. The practice of quoting unrealistically low fares and then adding on fuel surcharges and taxes is nothing more than a scam. If you took any other form of transportation such as a taxi or bus or ferry you wouldn't expect to get another bill for the fuel. You expect that the fuel would be included in the price.

    It's time the government made this kind of false advertising illegal in the Philippines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. To advertise like this - fares such as 'P1" that Cebu Pacific boasts about in huge advertising, only for passengers to find that the real fare is P1500 - is indeed a scam.

      It's illegal in Australia for airlines to advertise like this - fokllowing numerous complaints a few years ago, the regulator acted.

      One good feature in Philippines however is that the number of discount seats per route is shown. You can then work out how many for each flight are on offer. Sometimes the figure per flight is very low, but not always.

      Delete
  2. Thats why l take pal. Good in flight and ground service. Means good after sales and truth in advertising when selling tickets on line. All aboard on pal

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