Fuel Costs Push Year’s Fifth Fare Hike
Qantas is raising its fuel surcharge – for the fifth time this year in response to skyrocketing fuel prices. The fuel surcharge on a round trip to the UK and Europe on Qantas will hit almost $600 per person from next week after another round of crippling increases.
And it won’t rule out increasing the surcharge further, a prospect that remained under review, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said.
Surcharges on a round trip to Britain and Europe have jumped by $200 and will now slug passengers a whopping $580. Two months ago the fuel levy on a return trip was $190.
The surcharge on one way flights to US and Canada have increased from $150 to $250 and Asia, Pacific and Hawaii services have climbed from $105 to $145.
In a further blow to the tourist industry, domestic, regional and Tasman fares will rise 5% less than four weeks after the last increase.
The airline’s fuel surcharge for European and North American flights has roughly tripled since the start of the year.
‘‘The revised fuel surcharges cover less than half the increase in fuel costs for the Qantas international business for next year,’’ Mr Joyce said.
And, he warned, even if the price of oil falls, the surcharges will remain at the higher levels for some time.
The concern for Qantas now is that by raising the surcharge yet again, demand will slow.
Singapore Airlines which increased its fuel levy saw a sharp decline in load factor in March as demand fell 3.6% and capacity climbed 6.4%. South West Pacific flights saw one of the heaviest falls in loads of 9.2 percentage points to 71.5%.
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