BA paves way for dearer holidays with new fuel tax - just in time for summer

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The fuel surcharge will come just in time for the summer holiday boom

Ryanair BA blast: 'This is British Airways' ninth rip-off fuel surcharge since May'

British Airways' long-haul passengers will be slugged with an extra £10 on the cost of their holiday from next week.

The fuel surcharge - expected to be copied by other airlines - will come just in time for the summer holiday boom.

The surcharge on long-haul flights of more than nine hours, such as to Hong Kong or Australia, will increase from £38 to £43 each way - £86 return - from next Wednesday.

Passengers on long-haul flights of less than nine hours, to Florida, for example, will pay £38 each way, up from £33. The surcharge on short-haul flights stays at £16 return.

BA blamed rising oil prices for the increase on a day when they actually fell by 3 per cent. Even taking the price hikes of recent weeks into account, oil is still cheaper than this time last year.

BA's commercial director, Robert Boyle, said yesterday: "The cost of fuel has again risen significantly in recent weeks. Unfortunately, we have little choice but to pass on some of this extra cost to our customers.

"We believe the fuel surcharge continues to be the most transparent way for our customers to understand what they are paying and allows us to adjust the direct cost to our customers appropriately, whether that is increasing or reducing the surcharge."

Budget airline Ryanair called the increase a "rip-off". Spokesman Peter Sherrard said: "This is British Airways' ninth rip-off fuel surcharge since May

"In that time the price of oil has doubled but British Airways' fuel surcharge has increased 17-fold. British Airways is profiteering yet again. Ryanair guarantees the lowest fares 2004. and will never apply a fuel surcharge - not now, not ever."

The fuel surcharge was just £5 when it was introduced in 2004. Consumer groups have condemned subsequent increases as a sneaky way to bump up ticket prices by stealth.

The latest increase puts BA's fuel surcharge among the highest in the world.

• Holidaymakers have been warned of 'gridlock' at airports amid evidence that the Government's new anti-terror security regime cannot cope with high passenger numbers.

Tour operators and travel agents say airports do not have enough staff to carry out more stringent searches and check hand luggage at peak periods.

Travellers already face delays of up to 90 minutes and industry leaders fear the system will grind to a halt once the school holidays begin.

 

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