BA to increase fuel surcharges

British Airways is to increase its fuel surcharge on all tickets from next week, it was announced today.

From next Tuesday (3 June), the surcharge for short-haul flights will increase by £3 per flight (£6 return) from £13 per flight (£26 return) to £16 per flight (£32 return).

The surcharge for long-haul flights of less than nine hours will increase by £15 per flight from £63 per flight (£126 return) to £78 per flight (£156 return)

The surcharge for long-haul flights of more than nine hours will increase by £30 per flight from £79 per flight (£158 return) to £109 per flight (£218).

BA said it would also increase its fuel surcharges by similar levels in markets outside the UK.

Yesterday Sir Richard Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic announced fuel surcharge rises, although the carrier said that those sitting at the front of the aircraft would face higher charges than those in economy-class seats at the back.

In recent weeks airlines have announced cutbacks in services because of the sky-high oil prices while some carriers, including some operating between the UK and the US, have gone out of business.

BA's latest fuel levy hike comes just a month after the carrier last raised its surcharge.

The airline added on £3 to each short haul flight, £10 to a long haul flight of less than nine hours and £15 for a flight longer than nine hours from 2 May.

Earlier this month BA warned it would have to spend an extra £1bn on fuel this year if prices remained at the $120 a barrel mark.

Full year fuel and oil costs - which comprise about a quarter of the airline's expenses - topped £2bn during the past financial year to 31 March.

Oil prices were today hovering around the $130, and showing no sign of settling back.