BA Raises Fuel Surcharge Again

British Airways is to increase its fuel surcharges on all tickets issued from 3rd June. Passengers on long-haul flights over nine hours will face the biggest ever fuel surcharge increase in BA history.

Long-haul flights of less than nine hours will increase by £15 per flight to £78 per flight. The surcharge for long-haul flights of more than nine hours will rise by £30 per flight to £109 per flight.

The surcharge for short-haul flights will rise by £3 per flight to £16 per flight, or £32 for a return ticket. British Airways, which last year spent £2.1 billion on fuel, is bracing itself for a £1 billion increase over the next 12 months.

BA has blamed the move on continuing high oil prices. A spokeswoman told media: “Oil is now at over $120 a barrel, which compared even just to last year, when it was around $80, is a massive increase.”

The new charges apply to the UK market only, but BA says it will make similar increases to the fuel surcharges it applies to tickets issued abroad.

Among the other airlines, Virgin Atlantic also 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.