Last week Cathay Pacific applied a sharp increase to its fuel surcharge, more than doubling the fee – a significant one for award bookings on Cathay Pacific using Asia Miles or Avios points, where fuel surcharges are levied on top of your miles outlay.

Unfortunately jet fuel prices have continued to increase since these new rates came into effect on 18th March 2026, and now the airline is applying yet another steep increase, to take effect from 1st April 2026.

Cathay Pacific will also shift to reviewing its fuel surcharge fortnightly instead of monthly, a temporary measure reflecting the volatility in energy markets amid the ongoing Iran conflict.

Cathay’s latest fuel surcharge hike: 34%

Here’s how Cathay’s fuel surcharges will increase for cash and award tickets booked from 1st April 2026, compared to current rates, for the most common routings applicable to our readers.

Cathay Pacific Fuel Surcharges

Route	Fuel Surcharge
	Until 31 Mar 2026	From 1 Apr 2026
Hong Kong ⇅ Singapore, N.Asia, China	HKD 290 (S$47.60)	HKD 389 (S$63.90) 34%
Hong Kong ⇅ India, S.Asia	HKD 541 (S$88.80)	HKD 725 (S$119.00) 34%
Hong Kong ⇅ Australia / NZ, US / Canada, Europe, Africa, Middle East	HKD 1,164 (S$191.10)	HKD 1,560 (S$256.10) 34%

HKD to SGD conversion based on IATA at 27th March 2026

As you can see these are increases of 34% more or less across the board, which when combined with those that took effect earlier this month means around a 140% increase in the fuel surcharge by April, compared to February.

According to the latest price data published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global average jet fuel price increased to US$197.00 per barrel for the week ending 20 March 2026, increasing from US$157.41 per barrel for the week ending 6 March 2026, and US$95.95 per barrel for the week ending 20 February 2026.

Fuel accounted for approximately 30% of Cathay Pacific’s total operating costs in 2025 and is critical to our operations.
Fuel surcharge is an important mechanism to mitigate and recover a portion of our incremental fuel costs.

Cathay Pacific, 26th March 2026

Fuel surcharges apply to award tickets on Cathay Pacific booked using Asia Miles and Avios points.

Some examples

Cathay Pacific applies its fuel surcharges sector-by-sector, so for a simple Singapore – Hong Kong return trip booked after 1st April 2026 you’ll be looking at S$63.90 x 2 = S$127.20 in fuel surcharges.

That’s significantly more than the S$95 fuel surcharge applied for bookings made by 31st March 2026, and of course compared to the ~S$46 fuel surcharge that was in force on this route until mid-March.

Remember also that these fuel surcharges are in addition to the compulsory taxes and fees, typically levied by airport operators and applicable to all carriers.

Here are some total cash outlay examples for award travel in Business Class, based on round-trip itineraries, in addition to your miles.

Additional Taxes & Fees

Cathay Pacific Taxes & Fees (April 2026 Changes)
Route	Until 31 Mar	From 1 Apr	Change
SIN-HKG-SIN	S$229.50	S$262.10		S$32.60 (+ 14%)
HKG-FRA-HKG	S$641.80	S$771.80		S$130.00 (+ 20%)
HKG-LHR-HKG	S$973.10	S$1,103.1		S$130.00 (+ 13%)
SIN-HKG-FRA-HKG-SIN	S$806.00	S$968.60		S$162.60 (+ 20%)

Based on IATA Consolidated Exchange Rates at 27th March 2026

These increased charges will be applied for award tickets booked on or after 1st April 2026.

Existing tickets, or those booked between now and 31st March 2026, are unaffected as they are only impacted by the fuel surcharge in force at the time of booking.

Book now to lock in current fees

If you’re planning to lock in a long-haul Asia Miles redemption on Cathay Pacific, for example a return flight from Singapore or Hong Kong to Europe in the next year, it’s definitely worth considering making your booking by 31st March 2026 to avoid an additional S$160+ or so in fuel surcharges per person.

Award tickets on Cathay Pacific are made available to Asia Miles members 360 days prior to departure, and to BA Executive Club (Avios) members 350 days prior to departure.

That means if you want to avoid the April fuel surcharge increase by booking on or before 31st March 2026, you’ll be able to lock in future redemptions on Cathay Pacific at current fuel surcharge rates for departures until:

• Asia Miles: 26th March 2027
• Avios: 16th March 2027

Citi to Asia Miles transfers are now instant

While you’ll wait a few days for a UOB transfer to Asia Miles, or up to a week with DBS, one significant recent benefit for 2026 is that Citi Singapore to Asia Miles transfers are now instant.

That means you can top up your balance instantly from Citi once you see a good Cathay Pacific redemption to lock in using Asia Miles at the lower fuel surcharge, on or before Tuesday 31st March 2026.

Note that while OCBC also offers instant transfers to Asia Miles, these come with a 27.5% haircut on the usual transfer ratio versus a KrisFlyer transfer, so it’s usually a poor deal.

Further erosion of the Asia Miles advantage over KrisFlyer

Asia Miles still offers beneficial rates when redeeming Cathay Pacific flights compared to using KrisFlyer to redeem Singapore Airlines flights on a number of routes, however SIA continues to impose no fuel surcharge on its award tickets.

That means the advantage of paying lower miles rates is becoming increasingly offset by higher taxes and fees when redeeming Cathay flights, with these skyrocketing fees.

Here’s the difference in pricing from 1st April 2026 compared to today, based on a round-trip redemption in Business Class.

Business Class redemptions from Singapore
(round-trip, 1 pax)

From SIN (return)
	Until 31 Mar	From 1 Apr
Hong Kong	56k +S$230	56k +S$263	71k +S$135
Frankfurt	176k +S$806	182k +S$969	217k +S$254
London	230k +S$1,203	238k +S$1,366	217k +S$585
New York	230k +S$714	238k +S$877	234k +S$96*

* S$155 if routing via FRA

As you can see, total taxes and fees are now substantially higher for Asia Miles redemptions, and that’s getting even worse from 1st April.

Even for simple routes like Singapore – Hong Kong, the additional S$128 round-trip cash outlay may be enough to make you wonder whether a Singapore Airlines award is worth considering instead, despite the higher miles outlay.

For Europe and the USA the pricing is significant, and in some cases it will only be worth redeeming Asia Miles on Cathay Pacific instead of KrisFlyer miles on Singapore Airlines when there is simply no availability on the SIA side.

Singapore – Frankfurt – Singapore is a possible outlier; we still might take the 41,000-miles round-trip saving on Cathay Pacific and stomach the additional S$715 in fees on this one, but it’s getting very marginal indeed

Even then, it’s quite a cash sting, and that’s especially true given the added hassle of an aircraft change in Hong Kong.

Some Asia Miles award rates are also increasing

The higher fuel surcharges aren’t the only bad news for those using Asia Miles to redeem Cathay Pacific flights.

The airline is also quietly increasing some award rates in Business Class on long-haul sectors, by 4,000 miles in each direction, though Singapore – Hong Kong awards in Business Class will actually get marginally cheaper, by 1,000 miles each way.

These new rates take effect from 1st May 2026, and we’ll cover them in a separate article, but let’s hope that the fuel surcharge has eased somewhat by then!

The continued volatility and high prices in the energy markets as a result of the Iran conflict are still pushing up costs for airlines, with the “pump price” for jet fuel now at more than double February’s levels.

Cathay Pacific is therefore once again making a short-notice increase in its fuel surcharge, with a 34% increase coming just two weeks after rates were doubled.

If you have a redemption in mind over the next year, booking by Tuesday 31st March is a priority, allowing you to lock in current surcharge rates for departures up to mid-March 2027.

If you miss that window, the calculus on Cathay Pacific redemptions once again becomes noticeably less favourable. While Asia Miles still offers competitive mileage rates versus KrisFlyer on several routes, the fuel surcharge gap is fast wiping out that advantage.

(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)