Fuel surcharges...
Thread Starter
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 198
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From: Genolier, Switzerland
Fuel surcharges...
Being an economical sort of guy...
Is there any way to track fuel prices? Various airlines have imposed fuel surcharges. I suspect it will be up to the customers to pester them to remove the charges when the fuel cost returns below the level at which they started to impose the charges. What do you think?
Momo
Is there any way to track fuel prices? Various airlines have imposed fuel surcharges. I suspect it will be up to the customers to pester them to remove the charges when the fuel cost returns below the level at which they started to impose the charges. What do you think?
Momo
Joined: Jan 2001
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From: He's on the limb to nowhere
These surcharges are just another way of getting your attention with a low price and then hitting you with the real cost only when they want your credit card details.
Funny how Ryanair get slagged off all the time for this, low cost airline, cannot trust them, how dare they be in business blah blah blah BUT the so called real airlines are at it too!
I had to go to Edinburgh from London and so decided to save some money and burn some of my several hundred thousand BA miles. Good availability (but they had sneaked the 'cost' up to 12000 miles, another enhancement I see) and so I went through the process. At the end they wanted £36 for an award ticket! This consisted of airport taxes (fair enough I guess) but also a fuel surcharge, security surcharge, and another lot of money which they didn't identify.
Went to easyjet and they do the same flight for £35.98 all in!
So when they include these surcharges, it costs more to get a free flight with BA than it does to pay for the flight with easyjet!!!!
Explain that one without going red with embarrassment.
Funny how Ryanair get slagged off all the time for this, low cost airline, cannot trust them, how dare they be in business blah blah blah BUT the so called real airlines are at it too!
I had to go to Edinburgh from London and so decided to save some money and burn some of my several hundred thousand BA miles. Good availability (but they had sneaked the 'cost' up to 12000 miles, another enhancement I see) and so I went through the process. At the end they wanted £36 for an award ticket! This consisted of airport taxes (fair enough I guess) but also a fuel surcharge, security surcharge, and another lot of money which they didn't identify.
Went to easyjet and they do the same flight for £35.98 all in!
So when they include these surcharges, it costs more to get a free flight with BA than it does to pay for the flight with easyjet!!!!
Explain that one without going red with embarrassment.
Thread Starter
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 198
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From: Genolier, Switzerland
Another example
Here is another example:
Geneva to Orly from 16 to 18 Feb with Easyjet is CHF 55.73 plus 40 francs taxes. No fuel surcharge.
Geneva to CDG with Swiss is 99 francs, plus a 30 franc fuel surcharge, plus 62 francs taxes.
Geneva to Orly from 16 to 18 Feb with Easyjet is CHF 55.73 plus 40 francs taxes. No fuel surcharge.
Geneva to CDG with Swiss is 99 francs, plus a 30 franc fuel surcharge, plus 62 francs taxes.
Tabs please!
Joined: Jun 2004
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
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From: Biffins Bridge
The cost of a barrel Brent Crude is around $42 and airlines pay for their fuel in $ but isn't the exchange rate about $1.92 ?
I also recall Crude hitting the $40 mark around 15 years ago
Methinks we are being taken for a ride....
I also recall Crude hitting the $40 mark around 15 years ago
Methinks we are being taken for a ride....
Thread Starter
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 198
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From: Genolier, Switzerland
Historic prices
Here is more detail of what I am getting at, plus one web link:
Here is a graph of weekly Brent Crude prices:
http://tfc-charts.w2d.com/chart/BC/W
"A" means April, O means October.
Many airlines first put on fuel surcharges in August, when prices were in the low 30s. Swiss, for example, doubled the surcharges in December, exactly when the price hit 50. Now it's at 40 and trending downwards.
Momo
Here is a graph of weekly Brent Crude prices:
http://tfc-charts.w2d.com/chart/BC/W
"A" means April, O means October.
Many airlines first put on fuel surcharges in August, when prices were in the low 30s. Swiss, for example, doubled the surcharges in December, exactly when the price hit 50. Now it's at 40 and trending downwards.
Momo
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 207
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From: Manchester
While I tend to agree with you guys about the variation in application of fuel surcharges, you should be aware of a few things.
Firstly, the Low Cost guys do not have the option of applying fuel surcharges in the same way as the bigger guys. The LoCo's rely on the lower end of the price market, particularly in November , and small increases would bring prices above the " quick weekend away" market. Let me assure you that they are recouping some of their fuel costs with increased fares, but they have so many variations they just hide it. The bigger carriers flag it up, trying to work on the basis that as fuel poces drop ( hopefully) the surcharges will reduce as well.
You also need to be aware that Aviation Fuel has risen significantly faster than other fuels. The Oil Companies say it is due to processing costs, but to put it in perspective, while Petrol in UK has risen from around 79p a litre to 84p a litre, if had risen to the same extent as aviation fuel, you would now be paying £1.29 a litre. Currently Aviation Fuel is running at around $460 a tonne (it peaked at over $520). Last Winter it was in the region of $280 a tonne.
IATA recently announced that the aviation Industry will lose around $5bn this year, mostly due to fuel prices.
Firstly, the Low Cost guys do not have the option of applying fuel surcharges in the same way as the bigger guys. The LoCo's rely on the lower end of the price market, particularly in November , and small increases would bring prices above the " quick weekend away" market. Let me assure you that they are recouping some of their fuel costs with increased fares, but they have so many variations they just hide it. The bigger carriers flag it up, trying to work on the basis that as fuel poces drop ( hopefully) the surcharges will reduce as well.
You also need to be aware that Aviation Fuel has risen significantly faster than other fuels. The Oil Companies say it is due to processing costs, but to put it in perspective, while Petrol in UK has risen from around 79p a litre to 84p a litre, if had risen to the same extent as aviation fuel, you would now be paying £1.29 a litre. Currently Aviation Fuel is running at around $460 a tonne (it peaked at over $520). Last Winter it was in the region of $280 a tonne.
IATA recently announced that the aviation Industry will lose around $5bn this year, mostly due to fuel prices.
Joined: Jan 2001
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From: He's on the limb to nowhere
well JMC-man, suspect there is a fair amount of marketing speak in your post, not sure what I should aware of in what you say.
I still want to know why a reward ticket on BA costs me more in surcharges than a fully paid ticket on Easyjet. Easyjet are making a profit and are a fine airline, why are they not being sneaky like the so called proper carriers?
I still want to know why a reward ticket on BA costs me more in surcharges than a fully paid ticket on Easyjet. Easyjet are making a profit and are a fine airline, why are they not being sneaky like the so called proper carriers?
Joined: May 2000
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From: Camp X-Ray
It's not BAs fault, the only thing they'll see out of it is the £5 each way fuel surcharge. The rest of it goes to Gordon Brown. Easyjet are being just as sneaky, you just haven't spotted it. If they want a five quid surcharge they'll just up the price immediately on their web site. I bet you could have got your ticket for £25.98 all in a few months ago but you're not compaining about the increase in the Easy fare because it isn't transparent. Easy are well known for loss leading extremely low fares, they'll just be making the revenue up on the far more expensive fares they'll charge other people closer to departure time.
Thread Starter
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 198
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From: Genolier, Switzerland
Various charges
Well, in their weekly newsletter for Swiss customers, Swiss just announced the introduction of booking charges of 50 francs ($40) for phone bookings and 25 francs ($20) for internet bookings, starting Jan 1st for customers in Switzerland. The internet charge plust the 30 franc fuel surcharge and the normal airport taxes makes the total charges about the same as the full all-in Easyjet advance fare for some destinations, like GVA-BCN. My company has about 700 people in Geneva who are forced to take the lowest fare available. We are increasingly flying Easyjet. (Not an issue for me.)
Momo
Momo
