It doesn't matter which way you look at it, it's just another name for a price increase.
The price of oil is always going to go up and no doubt will not fall below the price it was a couple of years ago so why introduce a fuel surcharge, in a few years time the fuel surcharge will catch up with the price of the ticket.
Just reading an interesting thing in the paper a couple of days ago... If inflation was taken into account the cost of crude oil today is $US26.00 below the peak inflation-adjusted price reached in 1981.
So to Qantas, Virgin Blue, and any other airline introducing this surcharge..... don't play us for fools.....just raise the ticket price to cover the increases in costs and be done with it.
Cheers,
Capt EFIS.