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By Darwin G. Amojelar Reporter
PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) is
seeking another round of increases in its fuel surcharges for
domestic flights on the back of escalating oil prices.
In a submission to the Civil
Aeronautics Board (CAB), the Lucio Tan-controlled airline said it
wants to increase the surcharge in Luzon to P580 from P460, and in
the Visayas from P630 to P730, to P860 to P980.
The flag carrier’s request to
increase the surcharge is aimed at offsetting losses from higher jet
fuel prices.
As of October, Dubai crude oil,
the benchmark the Philippines’ oil refiners use, averaged at
$74.47 a barrel as against September’s $73.36.
Fuel accounts for a third of an
airline’s operating cost per passenger. It is the second-highest
expense next to labor.
The price of jet fuel started
going up in 2002 but local and foreign airlines began asking for an
adjustment in their fuel surcharge in 2004
For the first six months of the
year, PAL flew 1.98 million domestic passengers from 1.97 million in
the same period last year. Its load factor stood at 80 percent.
The airline earned a profit of
$34.5 million in the April to June period, and $140.3 million for
the year to March 31.
The carrier projects income for
next year to hit $32.32 million, and $26.28 million and $47.41
million in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
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