Carrier lifts air fares for elite flyers

By Tracy Alloway  |   2008-6-23  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

BRITISH Airways Plc, Europe's third-biggest carrier, increased fuel surcharges by 20 percent for premium-class passengers.

First and business-class passengers will pay a 133-pound (US$262) surcharge for a long-haul flight exceeding nine hours and economy class flyers will continue to pay 109 pounds, the London-based airline said in a statement distributed to travel agents last Wednesday. The changes took effect the next day. The figures were confirmed to Bloomberg News by spokeswoman Abigail Moore.

"It is now appropriate to spread some of this significant additional cost among those passengers traveling in cabins with fewer seats, using more space and benefiting from larger baggage allowances, as we burn more fuel per passenger to fly them," Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said.

British Airways has been increasing surcharges to offset record oil prices. The carrier expects its fuel bill for the current year to rise to 3 billion pounds from 2 billion pounds.

Crude oil futures have traded above US$120 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange since May.