Fuel adds extra £872 to holiday flights

As the Daily Express crusade for a fairer deal for consumers over petrol prices gathered momentum, British Airways increased its fuel surcharges yet again. [>

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From Tuesday, a family of four heading to Orlando in Florida will have to pay £872 surcharges on top of their tickets. [>

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Orlando creeps into the highest surcharge bracket because the flight lasts just 15 minutes longer than the nine-hour threshold. [>

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But the surcharge – the 13th in four years – comes just two weeks after BA announced record profits of £883million, up 45 per cent on the previous year. [>

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Last night the air passenger watchdog condemned BA’s policy of announcing surcharges instead of simply increasing fares. The Air Transport Users Council also challenged the airline to promise to cut the surcharge when oil prices drop. [>

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Rivals Ryanair, who described the surcharges as a rip-off, released 500,000 seats for just £10 including taxes and pledged “no fuel surcharges ever”. But the airline charges passengers extra to check in at the terminal and for luggage, food and drink. [>

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The controversy is yet another embarrassment for BA, which is still trying to rebuild its reputation after the disastrous opening of its £4.3billion Heathrow Terminal 5 in March. [>

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The surcharge rises announced on tickets bought from Tuesday were £3 a flight or £6 return on short-haul travel within Europe, taking the total surcharge to £32 return. [>

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On journeys of less than nine hours, the increase is £15 a flight or £30 return, a total of £156 return. On long-haul flights the increase is £30 a flight or £60 return, total £218 return. [>

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Other airlines have also increased fuel surcharges, including Virgin Atlantic which take effect from today. [>

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James Fremantle, of the Air Transport Users Council, said: “BA should announce separate fuel surcharges. Passengers should get an inclusive price. The argument has got stronger the more BA puts up its fuel surcharges. Other products are not priced in this way. Sainsbury’s has higher fuel costs but it doesn’t put a surcharge on the price of a loaf.” [>

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Mr Fremantle warned that the rising cost of flying was likely to lead to fewer passengers. He said: “The most important thing for passengers after safety and security is price. If prices increase it will reduce the number of people travelling. [>

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“BA is obviously trying to soften the blow by putting the cost of fuel as a supplement but, hopefully, passengers will see through it. [>

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“To have a fuel surcharge and keep increasing it every once in a while is not in passengers’ interests. In many instances on short-haul flights the tax and surcharges are costing more than the flight itself already. It would be interesting to know whether, if the price of oil comes down, BA will reduce the supplement.” [>

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Ryanair also claimed that BA, which like other airlines buys fuel in advance gambling on getting the best price, is currently paying 40 dollars less than the market rate. Adding to passengers’ woes, air passenger duty was doubled last year under the guise of a green tax in response to claims that aviation was the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gases. [>

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The complicated tax on flights out of the UK ranges from £10 a person on an economy trip within Europe to £80 for business class long-haul. [>

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The tax is expected to raise £2billion this year. A BA spokesman said: “APD is entirely a revenue-raiser. [>

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“It is not ring-fenced to be spent on the environment, and is the same on an old plane as on a new fuel-efficient model. It is just a punitive measure to extract as much money as possible for the Chancellor.” [>

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BA first introduced surcharges on May 13 2004 and has since increased them 12 times, with one decrease. [>