MilesBuzz! - SkykEurope CEO on fuel surcharges

Part of what SkyEurope CEO Jason Bitter in his airline magazine "Runways" for Sept-Oct. 2008:

" NEW PRICING POLICY:
We have now changed our pricing policy to offer all-inclsive pricing. What that means is that fares are no longer displayed without including any surcharges, airport charges, or taxes. These amounts are now all included in the fare. . . . Why have we done this? We have decided to price this way now because we believe it is a simpler system and is in line with our overall corporate philosophy of keeping everything as simple as possible. This change makes it much easier for us to manage our fares and improves communications with customers. With the cost of fuel at an all time high , we also thought that the time had come to stop treating the fuel surcharge and the fare as seperate costs. High fuel prices are now a fact of life and we must all learn to live with them. a fuel surcharge is meant for a short term spike in prices, not a fundamental shift in the economic landscape . . ."

With the cost of fuel at an all time high , we also thought that the time had come to stop treating the fuel surcharge and the fare as seperate costs. High fuel prices are now a fact of life and we must all learn to live with them. a fuel surcharge is meant for a short term spike in prices, not a fundamental shift in the economic landscape . . ."

Here, here! This guy gets my vote for Straight Talkin' CEO of the year.

Let's hope this is a contagious announcement!

Here's hoping honest pricing will sell better than "New York - London $299!!!*"

*=one way based on required roundtrip purchase plus taxes, fuel surcharges, convenience fees, jetway fees, attentive service fees, and because we feel like it fees.

More power to SkyEurope if they can make it work.^

Here's hoping honest pricing will sell better than "New York - London $299!!!*"

*=one way based on required roundtrip purchase plus taxes, fuel surcharges, convenience fees, jetway fees, attentive service fees, and because we feel like it fees.

More power to SkyEurope if they can make it work.^

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=807578 .....there's plenty of us that want to seee this work!!!

Interestingly, SkyEurope made this move over a month ago, and it is just now showing up here. In the interim, at least CO and DL have raised fees or added new ones, and I'm sure other carriers have, too. It would appear that this isn't contagious, much as we all wish it would be (http://www.wanderingaramean.com/2008/08/getting-rid-of-fuel-surcharges.html).

Oh, and they still charge for "checked baggage, airport lounges or any other paid services not directly related to the air ticket purchase," so they certainly aren't perfect.

Michael OLeary, CEO of RyanAir was on BBCs HARDtalk program last night, and pointed out that RyanAir has never imposed a fuel surcharge and went on to criticize airlines that did. He also defended a statement he made elsewhere that politicians and bureaucrats who were trying to impose fees on airlines and their passengers to fight so called "Global Warming" were "nutjobs".

Oleary certainly improved my opinion of RyanAir

Michael OLeary, CEO of RyanAir was on BBCs HARDtalk program last night, and pointed out that RyanAir has never imposed a fuel surcharge and went on to criticize airlines that did. He also defended a statement he made elsewhere that politicians and bureaucrats who were trying to impose fees on airlines and their passengers to fight so called "Global Warming" were "nutjobs".

Oleary certainly improved my opinion of RyanAir

Do a bit more research on Ryanair and O'Leary if you please.
This is the man who bought a taxi license so that his chauffeured car can use the bus lane!! :mad:
As for Skyeurope, they're generally recognised as one of the better LCCs in Europe, however their financials are precarious...

Do a bit more research on Ryanair and O'Leary if you please.
This is the man who bought a taxi license so that his chauffeured car can use the bus lane!! :mad:
As for Skyeurope, they're generally recognised as one of the better LCCs in Europe, however their financials are precarious...

As far as I am concerned, he can get all of the taxi licenses he wants, as long as he keeps opposing those fuel surcharges on air tickets.

Michael OLeary, CEO of RyanAir was on BBCs HARDtalk program last night, and pointed out that RyanAir has never imposed a fuel surcharge and went on to criticize airlines that did. He also defended a statement he made elsewhere that politicians and bureaucrats who were trying to impose fees on airlines and their passengers to fight so called "Global Warming" were "nutjobs".

Oleary certainly improved my opinion of RyanAir

You prefer Ryanair's nickle and diming, with lots of separate charges, to a fuel surcharge?

Lets not lose sight of the thread focus here:

The CEO ADMITTED that fuel surcharges should be part of the base fare, since fuel is a fundamental part of air transport. Whereas all the other excess fees are indeed OPTIONAL SERVICES.

The fuel surcharges, especially on long haul flights have fundamentally changed the value proposition of mileage awards. To the extreme, JL now charges $1000 fuel surcharge NRT-SYD RT. My average long-haul fuel surcharges on BD and AF FFPs exceed $450, and with the 'legit' taxes, we're looking at upward of $650 for a long-haul award.

Fuel is a cost of doing business, not an optional service and should be charged a such.

Up to this point, I understand and sympathize with the need for fuel surcharges because of the speed with which oil prices went up and because of concern about shocking the fare marketplace with huge fare increases in their published pricing structure.

So, now that the airlines have gone through a number of months TRANSITIONING to the new reality of higher oil prices, now is the time to accept the notion of $120+ oil pricing and build the price increase into the fares themselves and eliminiate the fuel surcharge.

Or at worst, let $120 be the NEW benchmark with which to initiate fuel surcharges.

This is likely not the airline speaking. Back in June, the EU introduced legislation which was voted on and approved in July that basically says, "Air fares would have to include all taxes and additional charges when advertised in any of the European Union's 27 countries." I think that this comment by SkyEurope would echo all other EU country airlines given that by years end of the start of next year (i can't remember the exact date.) they must all "appear" to be doing things better for the customer.

Michael OLeary, CEO of RyanAir was on BBCs HARDtalk program last night, and pointed out that RyanAir has never imposed a fuel surcharge and went on to criticize airlines that did. He also defended a statement he made elsewhere that politicians and bureaucrats who were trying to impose fees on airlines and their passengers to fight so called "Global Warming" were "nutjobs".

Oleary certainly improved my opinion of RyanAir

Have fun paying £3 for a drink, £15 for using a credit card to book your flight, £20 to book your flight online, even more to book by phone, £20 to check your bags, on and on and on. Oh, and sitting in a seat that smells like throwup because Ryanair couldn't be bothered to clean their planes. No thanks, I'll pass.

I sincerely hope that Ryanair pisses off enough passengers to go under so that their model doesn't catch on here. Using a credit card to book your flight is a cost of doing business, not an optional service. The fare should absorb that. Ryanair may fight fuel surcharges all it wants, but I still have a low opinion of a company that treats its customers like dirt just because they paid low fares (or for any reason). A paying customer should be treated like royalty (at the least, with respect and dignity) regardless of the fare they paid.

Michael OLeary, CEO of RyanAir was on BBCs HARDtalk program last night, and pointed out that RyanAir has never imposed a fuel surcharge and went on to criticize airlines that did. He also defended a statement he made elsewhere that politicians and bureaucrats who were trying to impose fees on airlines and their passengers to fight so called "Global Warming" were "nutjobs".

Oleary certainly improved my opinion of RyanAir

I'd have liked to have seen that. Was he challenged at all? The media still love Ryanair, despite everything. I think because Ryanair still act like the poor little defenceless airline who are fighting for consumers.

Ryanair have just rebranded fuel surcharges. I think their current favourite is 'Debit Card Charge' which is €5.00 per person per sector. So a family of four on a Ryanair flight will be stung for €40.00 just for paying for the ticket! And heaven help them if they need to take luggage...

Of course, I'm not sure of how low your opinon of Ryanair was before the interview. ;)

I'd have liked to have seen that. Was he challenged at all? The media still love Ryanair, despite everything. I think because Ryanair still act like the poor little defenceless airline who are fighting for consumers.

Ryanair have just rebranded fuel surcharges. I think their current favourite is 'Debit Card Charge' which is €5.00 per person per sector. So a family of four on a Ryanair flight will be stung for €40.00 just for paying for the ticket! And heaven help them if they need to take luggage...

Of course, I'm not sure of how low your opinon of Ryanair was before the interview. ;)

Some of the legacies are also playing that credit card charge ploy. It sucks regardless of who uses it.

As to checked luggage, I rarely check any, so I am not opposed to airlines that allocate that part of the expense of flying to those who use it. That way, I don't have to pay for a service I rarely use. I have always prefered to carry mine on rather than leave it at the mercy of the baggage mishandlers / luggage throwers.

I tend to use other LCC's which have more routes in this part of Europe, but the Ryan Air flights I have been on have been okay.

Some of the legacies are also playing that credit card charge ploy. It sucks regardless of who uses it.

As to checked luggage, I rarely check any, so I am not opposed to airlines that allocate that part of the expense of flying to those who use it. That way, I don't have to pay for a service I rarely use. I have always prefered to carry mine on rather than leave it at the mercy of the baggage mishandlers / luggage throwers.

I tend to use other LCC's which have more routes in this part of Europe, but the Ryan Air flights I have been on have been okay.

Any Ryanair flight I have been on has been uneventful, but I do have a problem with them - it's just that their credit card charges are so expensive it makes a mockery of their claims not to be applying fuel surcharges, and the baggage policy flies in the face of their so-called cost reductions.

Why do I say this? Because FR are currently refusing to pay some landing charges to the BAA because FR say that they are too expensive. So why on earth do they think that passing on a EUR5.00 per person per sector just to pay for a flight is acceptable? Because they are not passing on this charge, they invented it.

Why don't they provide a price with taxes and baggage included, and make deductions if baggage is not taken? Because then you'd see that the baggage charges are not, as they said, cost-neutral. This is a pure profiteering. If FR are, as the constantly spout, so cheap, then this will still stand up to comparison with other airlines. But of course, they're not so cheap. And often traditional airlines will be cheaper, will fly to known airports and provide a better service. And Ryanair don't want people seeing that.

Currently, Ryanair manage to make you feel ripped off even when you are getting a bargain.

I refuse to give that arrogant prick any of my money.

I just don't see how a business model built on customer contempt can be sustainable.

Some of the legacies are also playing that credit card charge ploy.
Thankfully that's a violation of the Merchant Agreements in the U.S., so we haven't seen it.

Thankfully that's a violation of the Merchant Agreements in the U.S., so we haven't seen it.

I wish the same were true in Europe. It is a common trick of airlines on this side of the pond.

I wish the same were true in Europe. It is a common trick of airlines on this side of the pond.

It is actually also a violation of Visa and MC policy in Europe, however some EU countries explicitly allows such charges, and such Visa/MC has to abide by local laws.

P.S. On other hand ATM owner fees are banned in Europe, so we are somewhat even :)

I'm not sure what ATM Owner Fees are, however there are plenty of ATMs in the UK that charge up to £2.00 to withdraw your own cash. They are usually placed in areas with no nearby alternatives (often where free machine has been removed), so it's quite a nasty charge if you need a small amount of money in a hurry.

I'm not sure what ATM Owner Fees are, however there are plenty of ATMs in the UK that charge up to £2.00 to withdraw your own cash. They are usually placed in areas with no nearby alternatives (often where free machine has been removed), so it's quite a nasty charge if you need a small amount of money in a hurry.

They are also almost universal in some European countries like Greece.

It is actually also a violation of Visa and MC policy in Europe, however some EU countries explicitly allows such charges, and such Visa/MC has to abide by local laws.

P.S. On other hand ATM owner fees are banned in Europe, so we are somewhat even :)

ATM fees maybe in some places, but in other countries, card issuers (not ATM owners) charge for the use of another bank's ATM :-(

I just happened to come to this thread. As I understand, Both skyeurope and ryanair etc are low cost carriers.

According to my understanding, fuel surcharges affect only the frequent flier ticket prices. If I buy a regular revenue ticket, I don't care how much part of the fare is the tax and how is the actual fare, what I want is the end number.

Besides, having fuel surcharges as taxes creates a very interesting scenario. If I pay for a non-refundable fare of 200€ of which lets say 150€ are taxes, majority if it being the fuel surcharge. This means that I can claim 150€ as refund if I don't travel.

Since low cost carriers don't have FFPs (or very rudimentary FFPs), and making fuel surcharge a part of the ticket would make a part of tickets refundable (on even the most restrictive fare) which they would want to avoid ofcourse. Hence they would rather stay out of this fuel surcharge mess.

Legacy carriers, on the other hand, use fuel surcharge mostly to get some money out of their FFP. I do not see any other reason besides that. Ofcourse, I do not like to pay a lot when I want to redeem an award ticket. But given the economic scenarion, I dont think its going to change.