QF to increase fuel surcharges again!

[JohnK]

Buy those international tickets now!

Qantas set to lift fuel surcharge
August 17, 2006 - 10:40AM

Qantas Airways Ltd is set to lift the fuel surcharge on airfares on its international routes.

Asked on Thursday if Qantas was considering increasing its fuel surcharge, chief executive Geoff Dixon said: "Yes."

"We'll announce that tomorrow or on Saturday," he said.

Mr Dixon said the increase would impact international routes only.

More...

 

[Aircrash 1]

Why not be honest and just raise the fares?????


Because they need permission to do so.

Qantas rodgers the Australian flying public once again.

"Oh, it's not our fault, we are reducing costs, it's the world situation, we have no control, we are a useless airline'.


When will we have any competition in this country??????????????????????

 

[Dave Noble]

Because they need permission to do so.

Why would they need permission, they are a private company

When will we have any competition in this country??????????????????????

Hmm, domestically there is DJ and internationally up the eastern hemisphere there is plenty of competition.

Dave

 

[Ikara]

Clearly Aircrash 1 is having a bad day. Must have been all of those earlier replies to threads filling his in-box!

 

[tanewi]

I am just waiting for someone to say something bordering on controversial, that will end up in the popular press!

Did we ever find out who (on this board) "accused" QF of "price gouching"?

PS JohnK any trip reports posted or just easier to give you a call?

 

[dajop]

Mental note to self:
1) Not bother any more with WP
2) DOn't worry about lifetime gold
3) IMMEDIATELY switch all points earning to AA
4) Start using DJ more.

Qantas has increased its fuel surcharge by as much as 89 per cent to offset record oil prices.
Under a new system, the surcharge for a one-way flight from Australia trip to Europe will jump from $98 to $185.
The surcharge for one-way trip to the United States or South Africa will rise by 48 per cent to $145.
And the surcharge will add $115 to the cost of a one-way ticket to Asia.
The price rises will come into effect on tickets issued on or after the August 31.
The move was flagged yesterday as part of the company's profit announcement.
Qantas first introduced an international fuel surcharge of $15 per sector in May 2004.
Since that time, the oil price has risen 85 per cent.
Qantas says there will be no change to domestic fuel surcharges

 

[NM]

From August 31st, fuel surchrage for international flights will increase as follows:

Between Aus and UK/Europe: A$185 (was $98 or $196)
Between Aus and Mainland USA, Canada, South America, and India: A$145 (up from $98)
Between Aus and Asia, Pacific or Honolulu: $115 (was $98)
Between Aus and NZ: $65 (was $56)

 

[Standby]

Yep its steep but somene is always going to be the first cab off the rank.
My guess is within 2 weeks you'll find other longhaul carriers join the Queue.
I think it naive to think otherwise
The rights and wrongs of if the increase shud be in the fare or not is a long hairy debate. But the upshot from a paying punter is its the total cost that counts not how its made up that determines purchasing decsions.
Now I'm not happy my weekly fuel bill has gone up 30% either >i guess I'm lucky its only a 30.00 increase a week.
I worked out a 747 uses over 200k Litres on a SYD LAX flight. Based on current known increases that means 1 flight op costs have increased by at least $60K!!.I dont know any other business whose board wouldnt insist those prices get passed on quick smart.Flying is the same as owning a car.its a luxury item again and we've been taking it for granted over the past few year.Ultimately all airlines fares are going up (some more than others depending on their other costs and financials) The need to increase the levy
for airlines like QF/NZ/BA etc is more pressing as they don't have the luxury of paying no corp tax or being allowed to write off their new planes in 3-4 yrs.
The upshot is I'll either travel less or the boss will make me travel "down the back" even on the long trips to save money.
Appologies for rambling but I had a few extra moments as I sit here in the QC,coldie in hand waiting to get home

 

[JohnK]

Changes to Qantas International Fuel Surcharges

Sydney, 18 August 2006

Qantas said today that, due to continuing record fuel prices, it would increase its international fuel surcharges for tickets issued on or after 31 August 2006.


...

Qantas international destinations (from Australia, one-way)
- UK and Europe: New surcharge - $185 Previous surcharge - $98* $196#
- Mainland USA, Canada, South America, South Africa and India: New surcharge - $145 Previous surcharge - $98
- Asia, Pacific, Honolulu: New surcharge - $115 Previous surcharge - $98
- New Zealand: New surcharge - $65 Previous surcharge - $56

* for a direct flight # for a two-sector journey (eg, changing flights at a mid point/stopping over)

...

Mr Borghetti said there would be no change to the Qantas Group's domestic fuel surcharges.

He said record high fuel prices continued to have a significant impact on Qantas.

"When Qantas first introduced a fuel surcharge in May 2004, crude oil was trading at US$40 a barrel," he said.

"Since then, prices have nearly doubled and the benchmark Singapore jet fuel price has increased from US$44 a barrel to around US$90 a barrel.

"On current forecasts, the Qantas Group's fuel bill for 2006/07 is expected to be A$3.9 billion, after hedging. This is an increase of A$2 billion in two years."


More...

The price of crude oil has doubled in two years since the introduction of fuel surcharges and the fuel bill has/will almost double in the same 2 years. Assuming that the international fuel surcharge was $15 in May 2004 and looking at new level of fuel surcharges that does not agree with the above statement of crude oil/fuel bill doubling in that time. The cheapest international fuel surcharge across the Tasman has increased by more than 300% in that time.

There is more to this fuel surcharge than just rising oil prices. It is a nice way of adjusting the bottom line to look better. I don't care if they are a private company they should not be allowed to get away with it. It is about time fuel surcharges are put to bed and any further increases are either absorbed or reflected in the adjustment of the base fare.

 

[Mal]

Ouch! That's a steep increase.

Other carriers will follow through with increases as soon as possible methinks. They can't be left behind in the race to increase prices

I wonder what will need to happen in the world to see fuel prices go down?

 

[StevePER]

"These new arrangements will see all customers travelling Qantas internationally to a particular destination pay the same surcharge, regardless of how many sectors they fly to reach that destination," he said.

I think this is a far fairer way to apply the surcharge, even though I disagree with it. So the surcharge for many journeys (especially those not originating in SYD) has actually decreased.

I wonder if this includes the surcharge on domestic flights when connecting to international surcharges? For example, will someone flying PER-SYD-LAX pay the same surcharge as SYD-LAX? That's what the above quote implies to me.

Steve

 

[serfty]

It's getting harder; I really wish Qantas would bite the bullet and include the fuel costs in the tickets. :evil:

I guess when the Fuel Surcharges were first introduced Qantas had their Hedging in Place. I Guess the benefits of this have now just about finished.

These increases are a departure from the Three Tiered International setup they had:

i.e. Tasman/HKG/<All others> levies of $56, $47(?) & $98 respectively; the new levies relate a lot more to distance; so in reality the changes are not that great.

If you tend to travel mainly to Asia, it's a 16% increase; Europe - 86%.

BTW, I reckon it's a bit glib comparing the cost for a journey on one 'flight' Oz-Eur against a journey broken with a stopover/transit in Asia! (cf. # for a two-sector journey . )

 

[Tiki]

I'm with you, Serfty! Just raise the bloody fares! It is sooooooo annoying to see stuff like BNE-BKK $599 and you don't find out about the $230 surcharges until you call. (Not real prices, just an example).

 

[Soundguy]

It's getting harder; I really wish Qantas would bite the bullet and include the fuel costs in the tickets.

But then they couldn't hit passengers travelling on award tickets.

When is an award not an award.....?

 

[Yada Yada]

It's getting harder; I really wish Qantas would bite the bullet and include the fuel costs in the tickets. :evil:

I agree wholeheartedly. This stupid "surcharge" nonsense has gone too far. It assumes that oil will go back down to where is once was. If the price of oil dropped below the level it was when fares were set at their current rates, would the airlines give us a "fuel rebate" when we purchased a ticket? Of course not. It's all bollocks.

It's time they included all of these add-ons in the base fare. We all accept that the cost of operating an airline has gone up dramatically and that we have to pay more.

 

[Mal]

Maybe it is time to start campaigning to your local Federal member, and/or the ACCC directly to let them know you think the government should be stepping in and legislating this.

 

[JohnK]

It assumes that oil will go back down to where is once was....

Not sure whether this is propaganda or truth but I was watching Fox news the other day and someone mentioned that if they tapped into the sand areas of Alberta it would produce as much oil as Saudi Arabia and there is enough there to last 100 years. If there any truth to this statement why isn't anything done? Oil prices would return to ~$40/barrel.

It's time they included all of these add-ons in the base fare. We all accept that the cost of operating an airline has gone up dramatically and that we have to pay more.

The fuel 'surcharge' has become a good excuse for increased revenue.

 

[kyle]

Not sure whether this is propaganda or truth but I was watching Fox news the other day and someone mentioned that if they tapped into the sand areas of Alberta it would produce as much oil as Saudi Arabia and there is enough there to last 100 years. If there any truth to this statement why isn't anything done? Oil prices would return to ~$40/barrel.

Cos the US doesn't want the price of oil to go down becos of China?

 

[JohnK]

Cos the US doesn't want the price of oil to go down becos of China?

Not wise going into political discussions on a FF forum but they will need to make a decision on which is worse soon. Do you continue to allow countries like Iran and Venezuela to flourish with increased revenue from rising oil prices? There are known links between the 2 governments(?) and both fund terrorism....

 

[AnonymousCoward]

Not sure whether this is propaganda or truth but I was watching Fox news the other day and someone mentioned that if they tapped into the sand areas of Alberta it would produce as much oil as Saudi Arabia and there is enough there to last 100 years. If there any truth to this statement why isn't anything done? Oil prices would return to ~$40/barrel.

Extracting oil from sand (ala Alberta) is (apparently) quite expensive, not to mention energy intensive. It's probably not economical at USD$40 barrel, though it probably is at today's prices.

Saudi Arabia has plenty of oil left - decades at current consumption. The problem isn't a shortage of oil, but investment in fields and refineries and shipping and so forth. No new refinaries have been built in the US for 25 years now - that puts a constraint on how much fuel can be produced. It takes time for new shipping to come online (and an assurance that prices won't crash back to $25/barrel). And wars in Iraq (and in the Middle East in general), not to mention commercial/political intrigues in Russia don't help.