RP airlines keeping fares steady amid rising oil prices - CAB

Local airlines are keeping fares steady to encourage more Filipinos to travel in the face of rising oil prices. The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said Thursday that carriers will not increase fares while Philippine market conditions are improving. "Prices will stay low because of the competition. The industry is attracting a lot of first-time flyers. There are also a lot of new domestic routes," said Carmelo Arcilla, executive director of CAB. "Our domestic travel sector has been very vibrant. It could grow by a double-digit rate this year," said Arcilla, who was reappointed head of the air transport regulator earlier this week. Statistics showed that domestic air passengers rose in numbers by 14.22 percent to 3.89 million in the first quarter from 3.4 million a year earlier. Still, industry leaders said that airline profits will likely slip on low fares and higher fuel costs. The industry remains fragile also because of poor ratings from international aviation organizations in the last three years. "This is one of the darkest times for the sector because this is the first time that we have low grades from all three air travel groups," Arcilla said. He was referring to the US Federal Aviation Administration, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Union Air Safety Committee. The low grades from the three groups means local airlines are now banned from flying to Europe and expanding operations in the US. —JE/VS, GMANews.TV