Two big airlines reduce fuel surcharge on falling oil price
Lufthansa reduced its fees for domestic and European flights by 11 percent to 24 euros. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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Wednesday October 15 2008
Deutsche Lufthansa AG and British Airways Plc, Europe's second and third-largest airlines, will cut fuel surcharges after a decline in the price of crude oil.
Lufthansa reduced its fees for domestic and European flights by 11 percent to 24 euros and long-haul flights by 5 percent to 92 euros. The reductions apply to all tickets bought starting Oct. 20, the Cologne, Germany-based airline said today in an e-mailed statement.
British Airways said the fee for economy passengers on long-haul flights longer than nine hours will be reduced to 96 pounds (€123) from 109 pounds as of midnight today. World Traveller Plus premium-economy customers will pay 114.50 pounds, a decline of 5.4 percent, the London-based airline said today.
The two carriers are following Paris-based Air France-KLM Group, Europe's biggest carrier, and London-based Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. in lowering the charges. The price of oil has dropped by 49 percent since reaching a record $147.27 a barrel July 11.
The British Airways surcharge on long-distance flights lasting less than nine hours will drop by 13 percent to 68 pounds for an economy-class ticket and by 5.7 percent to 83 pounds for a World Traveller Plus seat. Fees for first- and business-class travelers remain the same, British Airways spokeswoman Cathy West said in an interview. (Bloomberg)
- Steve Rothwell
