(AP Photo/Ric Francis)
The cost of fuel and the resulting airline surcharges provides a hearty discussion for those of us in the business travel industry. If you are looking to reduce travel spend, it is definitely a topic to pay attention to, especially for those traveling internationally.
Some carriers have announced reductions, while others are not considering this yet in light of the plummeting cost of jet fuel. Travel managers, particularly those with international travelers, might want to consider using air carriers who are the first to reduce or discontinue fuel surcharges. Doing so could reduce a round-trip international ticket by hundreds of dollars.
Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Qatar Airways, and Virgin Atlantic have announced reductions as of this month. Unfortunately, the last to fold will likely be those we fly so often in the U.S. We’ll just have to wait and see how long it takes and what impact the competitive marketing effort will have in their announcements to reduce these fees. Only time and market-share loss will tell.
If you’re looking for more information, here are a few articles with more details on fuel surcharges and those air carriers reducing them first out of the chute:
- Fuel Prices Fall, Yet Airline Surcharges Remain, USA Today
- Certain Airlines Cutting Fuel Surcharges: How Ticket Prices are Linked to the Levy, The Straits Times
