Act quickly: Cathay Pacific will double fuel surcharges from 18 March

Cathay Pacific reintroduced fuel surcharges in February 2021, after initially removing them in May 2020 when travel flatlined amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

These junk fees (when did you last go to a restaurant and have to pay an ‘ingredients surcharge’?) were annoying, but at least they were relatively mild. However, with the Iran war causing a significant spike in oil prices, Cathay Pacific has announced a major revision to its fuel surcharges from 18 March 2026.

Since airlines are required to quote all-inclusive fares, commercial tickets may not increase by the full extent of the fuel surcharge, as the airline may reduce the base fare slightly to keep the overall price competitive. But if you’re redeeming a Cathay Pacific award ticket through Asia Miles (or any partner programme that doesn’t absorb fuel surcharges), you can expect to bear the full brunt of the increase, because this has to be paid entirely in cash.

Fortunately, there’s still time to lock in Cathay Pacific award tickets with the current fuel surcharge structure for travel up to a year in advance, but you’ll need to act quickly.

Cathay Pacific’s revised fuel surcharges

From 18 March 2026, Cathay Pacific will roughly double the fuel surcharges on tickets compared to today (again, note how this refers to the booking date, not the travel date), as summarised in the table below.

Cathay Pacific fuel surcharges are the same across all cabin classes, and are applied by sector. For example:

• a round-trip ticket between Singapore and Hong Kong currently has US$36.40 of fuel surcharges, which will increase to US$74.40 for bookings made from 18 March 2026
• a round-trip ticket between Singapore and San Francisco via Hong Kong currently has US$182.20 of fuel surcharges (2 x [US$18.20 + US$72.90]), which will increase to US$372.80 (2x [US$37.20 + US$149.20]) for bookings made from 18 March 2026. 

Here’s a quick summary of how much more you can expect to pay for fuel surcharges for round-trip Cathay Pacific flights originating from Singapore.

Fuel surcharges are in addition to airport taxes and fees (and SAF!)

Fuel surcharges are in addition to the usual airport taxes and fees, which currently amount to S$65.20 for a flight departing from Changi Airport, and will increase to S$79.20 by 2030. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, you may be on the receiving end of a double whammy if you plan to fly from 1 October 2026, when Singapore introduces its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) levy.

I have strong feelings about adding yet another junk fee that shifts the costs of decarbonisation from companies to consumers (and Singapore residents in particular, as transit passengers through Changi are miraculously exempt). If it’s any consolation, however, the SAF levy does not depend on the total distance travelled, but rather the immediate next destination after departing Singapore. 

Therefore, Cathay Pacific passengers flying from Singapore will only be subject to Band 2, regardless of where they’re flying beyond Hong Kong.

So in a worst case scenario where you make an award booking on Cathay Pacific from 1 April 2026, with travel from 1 October 2026, your “free” ticket is going to cost significantly more compared to today.

There’s still time to lock in tickets

If you have plans to book a long-haul Cathay Pacific award ticket over the next year, you should strongly consider doing so before 18 March 2026 to avoid the increase in fuel surcharges.

Asia Miles members can book Cathay Pacific award seats up to 360 days prior to departure, which means that if you booked your ticket on 17 March 2026, the final day of the current pricing structure, you could travel as late as 12 March 2027.

Is Asia Miles still worth booking through?

As you may already know, Asia Miles offers lower redemption costs than KrisFlyer for certain routes— at least in terms of miles. The main advantage of KrisFlyer is that Singapore Airlines eliminated fuel surcharges in March 2017, resulting in a lower cash co-payment on award tickets.

That advantage will be reduced substantially once the new fuel surcharges kick in, and depending on how much you value a mile, KrisFlyer might even become the better alternative. 

Mind you, this assumes that Singapore Airlines doesn’t follow suit and introduce fuel surcharges of their own. Given the current geopolitical situation, I’m starting to have a funny feeling in my stomach…

Conclusion

Cathay Pacific plans to double its fuel surcharges for bookings made from 18 March 2026 onwards. This will hit all passengers, but especially those redeeming miles for award travel, as the surcharge must be borne entirely in cash.

For long-haul destinations like Europe, the combined costs of taxes, surcharges and fees on a round-trip Cathay Pacific flight could approach the S$1,000 mark, which is unpalatable, to put it mildly. 

Therefore, you might want to lock in your award tickets for travel up till 12 March 2027 over the next few days, failing which you’ll be hit by the increased surcharges.

(Cover photo: Plane’s Portrait Aviation Media)