BA raises fuel surcharge for third time this year

British Airways flyers were facing another hike in ticket costs today after record oil prices forced the airline to raise its fuel surcharges for the third time this year.

The move comes as the carrier faces a £2bn (€2.8bn) annual fuel bill for the first time following the spike in oil prices, which drew near 100 US dollars a barrel last week.

Under BA’s latest plans, the fuel surcharge for return short-haul flights will increase by £4 (€5.6) to £20 (€28). On long-haul return flights of more than nine hours, the fuel surcharge will rise by £30 (42.5) to £116 (€164), while those under nine hours will increase by £20 (€28) to £96 (€136).

The latest increase in BA’s fuel surcharges – effective on tickets booked from this Thursday – follows similar moves by the carrier in April and June.

The moves have added £36 (€51) since April to fuel charges on return long haul flights lasting less than nine hours, with return long haul flights of more than nine hours seeing a £46 (€65) increase.

The airline said it expects to pay an extra £136m (€192m) for fuel between now and April.

BA’s commercial director Robert Boyle said: “The cost of oil has reached record levels, rising by more than 20 US dollars a barrel since we last increased our fuel surcharge in June.”

Rival airlines such as Air France/KLM and Aer Lingus have also announced fuel surcharge increases as the sector comes under pressure from rising oil costs.

Oil prices began their current surge more than a month ago, driven on by a cocktail of supply concerns in the US, political tensions in oil-rich regions and soaring demand from emerging economies such as India and China. Recent production stoppages in Mexico have also added to concerns over supply.

Earlier this month BA, which carries 36 million passengers a year, said pre-tax profits soared by more than a quarter to £593m (€840m) in the six months to September 30.

But Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive, said at the time that fuel remained a “major challenge” for the airline.