THE Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) will hold a Jan 28 public hearing on the petition of several airlines to impose a cargo fuel surcharge based on chargeable weight instead of actual weight.
The International Air Transport Association defines chargeable weight as “the actual gross weight or volume weight of a shipment, whichever is higher.”
Typically, large items with a light overall weight take up more space on an aircraft than a small, heavy item. For example, if a shipper exports cotton, the actual weight of cotton is very low but occupies a good amount of space as a volume. In this case, if airfreight charges on the basis of actual weight of cargo, the shipper needs to pay a very nominal airfreight compared with a shipper who exports iron plates.
A CAB official told PortCalls that initially Emirates filed a petition but then airfreight forwarders told the Board that some airlines would also like to charge according to chargeable weight.
Aircargo Forwarders of the Philippines Inc. director Erich Lingad told PortCalls in a text message that the scheme means “extra profit for carriers” but said there’s “none” for airfreight forwarders “as it’s pass-on surcharge.”
But he did say there’s no extra work for forwarders.
Lingad said using chargeable weight is widely practiced by global airlines. –– Roumina M. Pablo
