BA raises fuel surcharges again - from 3 June

News just out:

Short haul up from 13 to 16 per flight

Longhaul under 9 hours from 63 to 78 per flight

Longhaul over 9 hours up from 79 to 109 per flight

With c. 35m passengers per year that's a lot of extra wonga to compensate for the latest fuel rises.

[Neil]

Wow, they are some big rises. This whole situation is going to reach the point were people can't afford to leave their houses. It's too expensive to drive anywhere, it will be soon too expensive to fly anywhere[V]

I expect Virgin will now announce similar rises soon too

Longhaul over 9 hours up over 35%, that's taking the p**s.[:(!]

Are these charges payable for people who already have bookings?

-Steve

[Darren Wheeler]

Originally posted by Stevieboy
Longhaul over 9 hours up over 35%, that's taking the p**s.[:(!]

Are these charges payable for people who already have bookings?

-Steve

But then the price of oil has gone up by nearly as much in the last 2 months.

Normally they are not adding it to existing booking, but that could change....

Originally posted by Darren Wheeler

Originally posted by Stevieboy
Longhaul over 9 hours up over 35%, that's taking the p**s.[:(!]

Are these charges payable for people who already have bookings?

-Steve

But then the price of oil has gone up by nearly as much in the last 2 months.


Normally they are not adding it to existing booking, but that could change....

Darren I do agree but why I say it's taking the P**s is airlines seem to be one of the few industries who can pass on an extra charge to their customers (whilst making big profits). My brother-in-law drives a bus and the bus company have not increased fares, they have just had to swallow the cost.
As for me, Diesel has gone from 99p to 130p in the past few months but I don't see Transport For London changing our meters to allow for this, I just have to accept the cost.

Something I don't understand, why don't airlines just increase the price of their basic fares to incorporate the rise instead of adding it as a surcharge. The way things are going with taxes, security charges and fuel surcharges will soon be more than the basic cost of the ticket[B)]

-Steve

[preiffer]

Originally posted by Stevieboy
The way things are going with taxes, security charges and fuel surcharges will soon be more than the basic cost of the ticket[B)]

Umm. They have been for ages in Economy...

Originally posted by hackneyguy
I expect Virgin will now announce similar rises soon too

With effect from Friday 30th May, fuel charges per sector applicable to all new bookings on Virgin Atlantic sold in the UKwill increase as follows:

Virgins updated fuel charges. Y pax will now pay less fuel charges than W or J

Economy - £2.50 on shorter sectors (to £65.50) and £4.50 on longer sectors (to £83.50)
Premium Economy - £12.50 on shorter sectors (to £75.50) and £16.50 (to £95.50) on longer sectors
Upper Class - £22.50 on shorter sectors (to £85.50) and £28.50 (to £107.50) on longer sectors

Originally posted by preiffer

Originally posted by Stevieboy
The way things are going with taxes, security charges and fuel surcharges will soon be more than the basic cost of the ticket[B)]

Umm. They have been for ages in Economy...

Shows how long since I've travelled down the back [:I][;)]

-Steve

A 747 burns about 10 tonnes of fuel per hour.
Thats about 78 barrels of JETA.
At current spot price of $170 per barrel (JETA not crude!).
Thats about £6500 an hour.
80% loading is 275 pax on LHR config; 350 on LGW.
Roughly £20 per hour flight time per pax.
LGW-MCO-LGW 17hrs - £340 flight fuel alone
LHR-JFK-LHR 14hrs - £280 plus 2hr taxi and hold...

The reality of fuel price suggests that surcharges have a long way to go to cover costs.

And when we add in landing charges, crew wages, ground staff, capital costs.......
It does suggest that current ticket prices are rather low.

Originally posted by Bill S
And when we add in landing charges, crew wages, ground staff, capital costs.......
It does suggest that current ticket prices are rather low.

Over on the wonderfully acidic board that is A.net there are many, many debates about this - and I absolutely agree. Fares in PE and UC probably can cope with the fuel situation, economy fares are ridiculously low and don't, but as with many other posts this is a situation that either:

a) if you believe the airlines are at fault they have got themselves into it and the only way they can deal with this is by adding surcharges - fuel, baggage, check in etc. to make a profit

b) consumers are a fault for chasing the cheapest and driving the airlines into the fare structure they offer

Personally, I'd like to see a price that is simply a price, not a confusing, ridiculous structure of myriad surcharges masking reality.

As a PE or UC passenger, my biggest concern is that the service is being continually cut.
I don't mind paying a premium for that service; I don't chase the cheapest otherwise I would not fly Virgin.

I do mind paying to subsidise unreasonable Y fares when I don't get the service I pay for.
That seems to be the major problem for VS - if they cut the standard of service they lose the premium pax: those that do cover their costs.
I would much rather see ticket prices increase to truly cover costs - all tickets!
That is the only long term solution to maintaining a premium service.

I suppose the one PLUS side that it is still a 'surcharge' as opposed to part of the fare, is that even on a non-refundable ticket, you get your taxes, fees and SURCHARGES back (albeit on some carriers for a small admin fee) If the fuel surcharge was just added to the fare, you'd have to lose that portion if you had to cancel a discounted, non-refundable ticket. Just my 2p worth.

(edited to amend spelling errors!)[:I]

Interesting point...effectively, the cheap Ns to JFK recently were as good as fully-refundable...

[mitchja]

The other thing that strike me, in relation to economy fares, is that as surcharges keep going up and the basic fare comes down to counter act this, this makes reward economy fares less and less attractive.

The price difference between a sale fare (which will earn you miles/TP's) and a reward flight (earns nothing) can be as low as £40.

I've found this particually with BMI and domestic flights. It can now be often only about £5 - £10 more to get a revenue fare than a reward fare now.

Regards

Originally posted by mitchja
The other thing that strike me, in relation to economy fares, is that as surcharges keep going up and the basic fare comes down to counter act this, this makes reward economy fares less and less attractive.

So true and particulary relevant for families where Y is often the only realistic option for reward travel. I have long suspected that by adding fuel increases as surcharges airlines are well aware that the fuel is no longer part of the reward - despite the fact that I paid for fuel as part of the original fare for which I recieved the reward in the first place.

As always my question is - how long should a surcharge exist before being absorbed slowly into the price? If they go on like this we may as well start paying for fuel seperately - which makes no sense at all and as StevieBoy says why can airlines charge seperately in this way?

FM

P.S. Oh and by the way - do children pay the full supplement even though they only pay 75% of the fare - of course they do. Another reason to keep it as a surcharge.