China's three major airlines will raise fuel surcharges on
international flights from next week.
The increase, due to start after October 1, will vary depending
on the destination and airline.
There are conflicting views on the increase in that some travel
agents believe the increase should affect overseas tour packages
only after the week-long National Day holiday which starts
tomorrow, while ticket agencies in Beijing say that airlines have
already started charging higher levies on jet fuel.
"The surcharge per passenger for a round trip to Europe has been
increased by 200 to 300 yuan (US$25-37) starting from today,"
according to Beijing ticket agent He Hua.
According to He, the surcharge for a Beijing-Moscow return
ticket with Air China was 1,297 yuan (US$162) on Friday, an
increase of 361 yuan (US$45) from the day before.
But the airline has not increased the surcharge on flights to
Bangkok.
Also raising surcharges are China Eastern and China Southern.
And US carrier Northwest Airlines has done so for flights from
Beijing to Tokyo.
"The surcharge for flights to Tokyo will increase by US$30-40,
which is a factor we cannot overlook nowadays as the whole industry
is seeing lower profit levels," said Lin Kang, who works with China
International Travel Service.
Tickets to East or South Asia typically cost about 4,000 yuan
(US$500), and at least 10,000 yuan (US$1,250) to Europe and
America.
Citing soaring international oil prices, China's civil aviation
regulator has already raised the surcharge on domestic flights
twice this year. The surcharge for every passenger who flies less
than 800 kilometers is now 60 yuan (US7.5), double the previous 30
yuan (US$3.7). For longer flights, the surcharge is 100 yuan
(US$12.5), up from 60 yuan (US$7.5).
The surcharge for international flights is decided by the
airlines themselves, not the regulator. But since most mainland
airlines posted losses in the first half of this year, largely due
to surging fuel prices, airlines are expected to use the new
surcharges to try to boost profits.
(China Daily September 30, 2006)