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Air passengers to bear the brunt of fuel price hike

While several airlines, when contacted by Khaleej Times confirmed that a fuel surcharge would be levied on fares beginning from today (October 15), many other airlines were not available for comment.

The UAE’s aviation industry giant Emirates airline also confirmed that it would soon be implementing a fuel surcharge in several markets. According to an Emirates airline spokesperson: “As of today (Oct 15), Emirates airline will be introducing a fuel surcharge on one-way and return fares in several markets. Tickets issued in Dubai are not subject to this new surcharge.” The spokesperson did not elaborate on the amount of surcharge to be levied.

The spokesperson also said that Emirates airlines was working towards offseting the sharp escalation in jet-fuel costs by identifying cost-reducing opportunities across the network and adopting cost-cutting measures wherever possible.

Earlier, airline officials had said that if the high prices persisted, they would be forced eventually to seek ways to pass the additional cost on to passengers, either in the form of high airfares or fuel surcharges.

A.K. Nizar, Air Arabia’s Head of Sales also confirmed that the airline had prepared for any eventuality. “There are various macro factors that influence the aviation industry and fuel prices are one such factor. In business, all dynamic organisations would have built sufficient fences to reduce such impacts on their operations. Air Arabia has planned for such eventualities,” he said.

He also said that though the airline had added a fuel surcharge of Dh30 per sector, the fares would remain the most competitive. “The current high oil prices have forced us to add a surcharge to our fares — we have added a nominal fuel surcharge of Dh30 per sector. We will always ensure that despite the surcharges or taxes we are forced to add, our fares will remain the most competitive in the market,” he explained. He also said that as the UAE was among the major producers of crude oil, no market indication of a shortage of oil was foreseen.

A spokesperson from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said that any decision regarding the increase in fuel surcharge was levied after a decision taken by the board of representatives, and for the time being, the airline was not considering any such increase.

• UAE