Two major airlines are said to have increased their ticket prices as the war in the Middle East keeps pushing fuel costs up.
Air France and KLM have become the latest carriers to confirm increased ticket prices due to the war.
The airlines, both part of the Air France–KLM group, had already introduced a surcharge last month to counterbalance spiralling jet fuel prices. At that point, economy tickets were increased by an additional €50 (£43.47) for a return journey.
Now, with a further rise confirmed, a long-haul return trip with Air France or KLM could incur an extra €50, taking the fuel surcharge to €100 (£86.98) on top of the base fare. Meanwhile, flights to the United States, Canada and Mexico could rise by €70 (£60.89), while an economy return ticket could cost an additional €10 (£8.70), the Mirror reported.
The Daily Express has contacted KLM for more info and comment.
KLM will also cancel 160 European flights over the next month due to jet fuel supply issues.
Earlier this week, Virgin Atlantic also announced a price hike. Its economy passengers will pay an extra £50, while premium economy passengers will pay an extra £180, and anyone in business class will see flights cost an extra £360. Quoted by The Sun, Virgin’s chief executive Corneel Koster said: “We have never seen jet fuel at this level and airlines cannot sustain those sorts of high costs.”
He also warned that the longer the war goes on, the more prices will go up, and added: “If they go up in a week and you book in two weeks’ time, you’ll be paying higher.”
Virgin Atlantic said it operates a dynamic pricing system based on supply and demand, so prices vary to recoup higher operating costs.
Last month, energy market expert and founder of Market Intelligence at Energy Aspects, Amrita Sen, has told MPs that other airlines are likely to follow suit due to disruptions to Gulf supplies, which account for most of the world’s jet fuel. While attention has focused on crude oil prices, Dr Sen said the impact on jet fuel has been much more severe, with prices doubling or even tripling from around $90 (£67) a barrel.
In the last few months, other airlines were forced to make changes to their tariffs. Air New Zealand has already raised one-way economy fares by NZ$10 (£4.42) on domestic routes, NZ$20 (£8.83) on short-haul international services and NZ$90 (£39.80) on long-haul, with more adjustments to prices and schedules possible if jet fuel costs remain elevated.
IAG, which owns British Airways, said a successful hedging strategy meant it had no plans for immediate price rises. However, other carriers warned that passengers could face surcharges to reflect higher fuel prices. Hong Kong Airlines introduced surcharges of up to 35% on March 12.
