Last time, I introduced a travel series called Flying 101. This series will take you through the basics of flying & everything around it. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced all of us to stay home up to the point that I’ve ran out of trips to share with you. Previously, I discussed the what are low-cost & full-service carriers, their similarities & differences. In case you missed it, head over to this post to read the comparison.
Today’s Flying 101 series topic is about Philippine airline taxes & fees. We are all aware of the ₱1 fare often offered by Cebu Pacific Air on selected occasions or Philippines Air Asia’s ₱0 (or free) base fare offered during their Red-Hot Seat Sales but we don’t only pay ₱1 or ₱0 for these tickets. We pay more because of the taxes & fees imposed by the government & the airline.
I got curious about these charges & fees & what they are for so I reached out to the Twitter customer service teams (thank you so much) of the country’s biggest airlines – Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air & Philippines Air Asia. I got answers from all 3, compiled them below & thought of sharing them to all of you.
Base Fare
It is the fare imposed by the airline before adding taxes & charges. This fare is entirely controlled by the airline. Promotions offered by airlines depend on how much base fare they offer to the market. Cebu Pacific Air’s piso fare tickets have ₱1 base fare. Air Asia’s Red-Hot Sale offers base fares for as low as ₱0 & Philippine Air Lines’ seat sale offer their base fare for as low as ₱99 from Cebu & Clark hubs.
This 2019 ticket to Bacolod had a base fare of ₱1299.00 per way & a value added tax of ₱353.00 🙂
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Value-added tax is a consumption tax imposed by the Philippine government for any sale of goods & services in the country. Every single item you buy or service you avail from any shop or establishment has value-added tax in it. The country’s current VAT rate is at 12%.
Passenger Service Charge (PSC)
The passenger service charge, commonly known as the terminal fee, is an airport tax paid by every passenger using the airport facilities. From memory, domestic terminal fees cost ₱50 to ₱200 per way while international terminal fees cost ₱550. These terminal fees were paid separately in the provincial & regional airports a few years back. Recently, the airport authorities asked the airlines to include this terminal fee in the tickets upon booking to avoid long queues & passenger inconveniences.
Here’s a sample of PAL’s domestic ticket fees – terminal fees were charged at ₱200 per way.
Aviation Security Fee
The aviation security fee (₱15) is a small tax imposed by the authorities for the proper implementation of the airports’ security measures.
Airlines have different terminologies for this charge or fee but it only pertains to the booking fee or the online convenience fee. Booking fees vary from one airline to the other & are charged either per way or per ticket. Note that Philippine Airlines’ booking fees are not refundable. Cebu Pacific Air & Philippines Air Asia’s booking fees are refundable for cancelled flights.
Cebu Pacific Air charged me ₱15 for the aviation security fee & ₱560 for the administrative or booking fee. This is a domestic return ticket booked a few months ago for Christmas holidays.
Philippine Travel Tax
Philippine travel tax is a tax imposed by the government through Presidential Decree 1183 to all Filipino citizens leaving the country for leisure purposes. This tax is required regardless of where the ticket was issued or how was it paid. The travel tax costs ₱1,620 for economy class passengers & ₱2,700 for business class passengers. Selected government & private officials, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) & infants (up to 2 years old) are exempted from paying this tax when leaving the country.
Here’s the updated travel tax rates as per the TIEZA website – all tourists are required to pay this.
Fuel Surcharge
Fuel surcharge is a tax levied by the airlines to the passengers to help them bear the increasing costs of fuel. This surcharge varies from one destination to the other. It is determined by the airline & is regulated by the authorities. Some airlines, particularly the low-cost carriers, do not impose fuel surcharge specially when fuel costs are low.
An example of a return Cebu Pacific Air ticket to Osaka booked last April. It still has fuel surcharge of ₱770. The airline already removed this charge for new bookings as of last May 2020. ✈️
Please take note that airlines may have other imposed (& approved) taxes & fees to the passengers. The taxes & fees above also do not include any charges made by foreign airports & entities for international flights to local airports.
That’s it – now you know what are the airlines & the airport authorities are charging on top of our piso fares or free seats. Do you have any questions or clarifications about the taxes & charges mentioned above? Feel free to post them in the comments section below. You may also send them via e-mail to contact@thewkdntravel.com & you’ll get an answer from me.
Thanks for joining me in today’s Flying 101 topic. I hope you learned something new. See you in the next one & stay safe!
It’s been months since leisure travel was banned for us, Filipinos. If not for Covid-19, many of us might be somewhere else blending with beautiful nature, walking around modern & vibrant cities & enjoying the sunset in islands & beaches. The pandemic stopped tourism or leisure activity & forced people to stay in their own homes.
I can’t believe my last leisure travel was my solo trip to Europe in late 2019. It’s the first time I’ve been on the ground this long. I may have run out of recent trips to share or post but it doesn’t mean I’ll stop sharing travel-related information & experiences with you. Since we’re all stuck at home, I figured out it’s the best time to go back to basics.
Today, I will start a blog series called Flying 101. It is a blog series that will talk about the basics of flying & all other details around it. By the end of this series, I hope you’ll know the ins & outs of flying & you’ll learn to maximize it once leisure travel is back to its pre-pandemic level.
The first topic in this Flying 101 series is a comparison between low-cost & full-service carriers. There are thousands of airlines around the world & all these airlines are either low-cost or full-service carriers. Join me in today’s topic as I define to you what are low-cost & full-service carriers, what are their similarities & their differences. Find out at the end of the post which type of carrier you should fly with in your next flight.
DEFINITION
A low-cost carrier is an airline that provides flights & fares at a low-cost & eliminates the luxuries of flying. On the other hand, a full-service carrier, from its name, is an airline that provides a comfortable (up to some point luxurious) full-board flying experience. A full-service carrier has a long & eventful history & are usually the flag carriers of the country of origin.
Cebu Pacific AIrAir Asia
Of the 3 main carriers here in the Philippines, Philippine Airlines is the only full-service carrier. The other 2 carriers – Cebu Pacific Air & Philippines Air Asia – are low-cost carriers. I will mostly use these 3 airlines to point out the similarities & differences between the low-cost & full-service carriers.
SIMILARITIES
Even with the different service models they use, low-cost & full-service carriers still have similarities as detailed below:
Destinations & Hubs – A low-cost carrier has almost the same destinations & hubs with that of the full-service carriers. All the 3 Philippine carriers mentioned above fly out from Manila, Clark, Cebu, Davao & other smaller hubs to various domestic & international destinations. 2 out of 3 carriers, if not all, fly to almost the same destinations depending on their fleet & the approved passenger traffic by the authorities.
Loyalty Programs – Airlines, regardless of the service model they use, offer loyalty programs to their passengers. These loyalty programs allow passengers to earn points & miles every time they fly or they avail from partner establishments. All the 3 airlines above have their own loyalty programs – Philippine Airlines has Mabuhay Miles frequent flyer program, Cebu Pacific Air has GetGo lifestyle rewards program & Philippines Air Asia has Air Asia BIG loyalty program.
DIFFERENCES
Believe it or not, low-cost & full-service carriers have a longer list of differences. Know more about these differences in the detailed list below:
Pricing – The biggest difference between low-cost & full-service carriers is pricing. Low-cost carriers offer the cheapest fares to & from their destinations. These carriers are known for providing no-frills fares – meaning fares only include a guaranteed seat in the flight & a limited carry-on baggage allowance. Their base fares can go as low as ₱1 or even ₱0 or free. Any extra service or benefit in a low-cost carrier comes with a fee. On the other hand, full-service offer flights at a higher price but with added benefits included.
Here’s a sample PROMOTION ticket FOR 1 to Taipei, Taiwan on EVA Air – a full-service carrier.
This is a ticket FOR 2 to Taipei, Taiwan on Cebu Pacific Air – a low-cost carrier. Cheap-o, right?
Cabin Class – Low-cost airlines usually adopt an all-economy class cabin; they pack airplanes with its maximum passenger capacity. Both Philippines Air Asia & Cebu Pacific Air pack their Airbus A320 with 180 economy class passengers. Cebu Pacific Air’s Airbus A330 can accommodate up to 436 passengers – the densest seating capacity for that type of aircraft.
CEB’s A330 with 436 economy seatsCEB’s A320 with 180 economy seats
Full-service carriers offer up to 4 cabin classes in their flights – first class, business class, premium economy class & economy class. First class is the most luxurious cabin & economy class is the cheapest. Only selected airlines fly all 4 classes but most airlines either have either business & economy classes or business, premium economy & economy classes. Philippine Airlines offer both business & economy class experience to most of their network & offer premium economy to selected routes.
Please take note that some low-cost carriers outside the Philippines, like Air Asia X, Scoot, Jetstar & Norwegian, have started offering premium cabins (their own version of business class) on their medium to long-haul routes.
Baggage Allowance – Baggage allowance in low-cost carriers come with a fee, depending on how big the baggage allowance is. On the other hand, baggage allowance is included in full-service carriers. Allowance depends on the cabin & fare classes but it’s usually 25 to 30 kilograms for economy class passengers on international routes.
In the effort to earn some revenue & to offer lower fares, some full-service airlines like Malaysia Airlines & Philippine Airlines have started offering baggage allowance for an additional fee on economy light fares.
In-flight Food, Entertainment & Experience – Full-service carriers outweigh low-cost carriers in terms of in-flight experience. Full-service airlines offer free snacks, liquor & up to 2 meals on board depending on flight duration. Each seat in a full-service airline plane has a bigger leg room & seat pitch & features personal entertainment screens in most flights. If not, they offer entertainment options via the airline’s mobile application. Each seat also offers a pillow, blanket & an earphone or headphone. Some full-service carrier airplanes even offer in-flight Wi-Fi. Premium cabins have wider seats, lie-flat beds, bigger entertainment screens & luxurious food options.
Meal on a full-service carrier (SQ)Paid meal on a low-cost carrier (5J)
In-flight experience in a low-cost carrier is nothing if you don’t pay for additional services. In-flight meals & snacks are available for purchase on the website & during the flight. Low-cost carries don’t offer entertainment options & amenities (pillow, blanket & earphones / headphones) on their flights. Every single added benefit on a low-cost airline comes with a fee.
In-flight entertainment on a full-service carrier (SQ)Seat features of a low-cost carrier (5J)
Please take note that airlines have various policies on in-flight features. Some full-service airlines offer snacks or meals for a fee on certain routes, particularly in Europe. I remember when I flew with Brussels Airlines & Czech Airlines; both flights I flew with offered snacks for sale during the flights. If you want to experience the full-service airline benefits, it’s best to fly with Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates & the likes.
Airports & Airport Terminals – This may not be entirely true here in the Philippines but some, if not most, full-service carriers fly from the main & nicer airports & airport terminals. Low-cost carriers have their own terminals, if not secondary airports. Secondary airports are mostly applicable to European low-cost carriers like Ryan Air & WizzAir. These secondary airports keep taxes & fees lower than that of main airports making it more attractive & fit for the low-cost carrier’s service models.
For example, most full-service carriers fly out of Kuala Lumpur International Airport Main Terminal while low-cost carriers fly out of Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2. Another classic example is Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi & Don Mueang Airports. Suvarnabhumi Airport hosts majority of the full-service carriers flying into Bangkok while Don Mueang Airport accommodates most of the low-cost carriers flying into the city. Here in the Philippines, Cebu Pacific Air uses the relatively newer Terminal 3 (for domestic jet flights) & the older Terminal 4 (for turboprop flights), Philippine Airlines fly out of Terminals 2 & 3 (for domestic flights) & Philippines Air Asia only uses the older Terminal 4 for their domestic services.
Code-Share Agreements, Alliances Networks – Full-service carriers have code-share agreements with other full-service airlines which make their networks even bigger. These airlines also are members of world airline alliances which make transfers easy & hassle-free. Passengers have access to farther destinations & even to smaller regional airports with only 1 check-in. It’s rare for low-cost carriers to have code-share agreements & alliances. It then makes their network only limited to their destinations.
Philippine Airlines is not a member of a world airline alliance but has code-share agreements with All Nippon Airways (Japan), Malaysia Airlines, Turkish Airlines & a few more. Cebu Pacific Air, on the other hand, is a member of Value Alliance. I am not sure if the alliance is still operational & I haven’t tried it too. Singapore Airlines is a member of Star Alliance, one of the world’s biggest airline alliance. Passengers can fly to various destinations worldwide as long as the destination is part of the Star Alliance network.
WHICH ONE TO FLY?
Now that we know what low-cost carriers & full-services area, its similarities & differences, you might ask me which one should you fly. I always consider 4 factors when choosing which one to fly – Fare, Flight Duration, Loyalty & Comfort.
Fare – I will always go with the low-cost carrier if the fare is way cheaper than that of the full-service carrier. If the promotional fare is at ₱1 or free base fare, no doubt I’ll go with the low-cost carrier but considering the 3 other factors below.
I won’t mind taking a 3.5-hour flight to & from Japan if the fare is this cheap – ₱2,873.74 return!
Flight Duration – I already flew 4 times a low-cost carrier on an 8-hour flight & I had a 50-50 experience. The passenger load was half empty on the first 2 flights so it was alright. The last 2 flights had full passenger load & it was the worst. I told myself that I won’t mind flying a low-cost carrier for flights up to 4.5 hours. I will take a full-service carrier for flights over 4.5 hours.
Loyalty – I collect & earn miles on selected frequent flyer programs; I also consider this when booking flights. Either I book with Cebu Pacific Air to earn GetGo points, with Philippine Airlines to earn Mabuhay Miles or with Singapore Airlines to earn KrisFlyer miles. As much as possible, when flying with other airlines, I make sure I will have the chance to earn miles or points for the program I am a member of.
Comfort – Comfort & in-flight experience is one factor that I recently started looking into. I make sure that I am okay with the carrier’s seats, service & promised in-flight experience when choosing on which one to fly.
I flew with both low-cost & full-service carriers in the past & I will choose the full-service airline at any time, especially on longer flights. If I am planning to save some cash, then I will go with the low-cost carrier. At the end of the day, you will be the one to decide which one to fly to your destination of choice.
Thank you for joining in today’s Flying 101 topic. I hope you learned something about low-cost & full-service carriers. Now you know which type of carrier you’ll fly with on your post-pandemic trip. Do you have any questions about anything mentioned above? Feel free to post them in the comments section below. You may also send them via e-mail to contact@thewkndtravel.com.
Be up to date with cheap fares, airline promotions & the upcoming Flying 101 posts by following me on these platforms – Facebook & Instagram. See you next time!
