KLM Flying Dutchman - KLM playing with our fuel surcharges !!!!

Good news:
Shortly KLM will start with 'huge' & 'special' discounted fares (ex AMS).
See: http://f.chtah.com/i/37/276565485/WDW2_050109.pdf


Bad news:
It is paid for by OUR 'huge' & 'special' fuel surcharges that should have come down ages ago.

:mad::mad::mad:

When will these fares start?

Fares start on Wednesday.

My point was/is: KLM are abusing the fuel surcharges!

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Are these not "All-in" fares? What do you mean when you say KLM are "playing with/abusing" fuel surcharges? And what do you mean when you say "our" fuel surcharges?

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Are these not "All-in" fares? What do you mean when you say KLM are "playing with/abusing" fuel surcharges? And what do you mean when you say "our" fuel surcharges?

I think what the OP is suggesting is that they are able to offer these so called Sales fare because they have benefited from our previously paid fuel surcharge which should have been reduced long time ago..

:)

If you're suggesting that KL is using a pre-booked "profit" on fuel surcharges to subsidise airfares, I find that hard to believe.

I guess I'm just amazed that what should be all-round good news - lower fares, in some cases quite substantial reductions - can somehow be turned around into another moan or complaint.

And yes, I know airlines are much quicker to introduce or increase fuel surcharges than they are to reduce or abolish them, but remember that many airlines hedge their future needs for several months, so many airlines are still, and will for some months, be paying much higher fuel charges than is the going rate.

If you're suggesting that KL is using a pre-booked "profit" on fuel surcharges to subsidise airfares, I find that hard to believe.

I guess I'm just amazed that what should be all-round good news - lower fares, in some cases quite substantial reductions - can somehow be turned around into another moan or complaint.

I wish I shared your blinkered optimism.

but remember that many airlines hedge their future needs for several months, so many airlines are still, and will for some months, be paying much higher fuel charges than is the going rate.Yeah, right!

I also remember that airlines kept on increasing their fuel surcharges as oil prices rose, despite having hedged their future needs at much lower prices!

Johan

Lol...

I obviously don't fit in here. I knew we were supposed to complain when the price goes up, but I didn't realise we were supposed to complain some more when the price goes down, or they re-run their World Deals Week promo.

However, it would appear from their email today that the Barcelona fare has in fact gone up...due to the strikethrough font used!

http://i43.tinypic.com/ka32gm.jpg

KLM announced today that its fuel surcharge would decrease by 2 euros for European flights and 8 euros for intercontinental flights.

http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2009/01/07/afx5888468.html

This is KLM only, NOT Air France.

KLM announced today that its fuel surcharge would decrease by 2 euros for European flights and 8 euros for intercontinental flights.

http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2009/01/07/afx5888468.html

This is KLM only, NOT Air France.

Sadly that hardly makes a difference when booking an award ticket to NRT or SCL... :mad:

A Dutch TV News station calculated KLM's fuel surcharges over the years andn it appears they are overcharging; see this graph:

http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/News/?id=29148

"On January 1st 2009 the price of Kerosene was 5% higher than one year before, but KLM's surcharge for longhauls was 400% more than one year before" (108 vs 28 euros)

Furthermore, as today apparently the surcharge for shorthauls dropped 2 euro's I checked the award booking engine. For a one-way OTP-AMS it charges me €51,50. That is EXACTLY as much as yesterdaynight when I checked. Before, when they increased the surcharge, it would be also increased on the award booking engine on exactly the day after.

As the OP mentioned, there are some good deals now available ex AMS. What do you think the chances are of KLM having a sale for other countries, such as the UK market etc? Find it strange that they are not promoting one, given that nearly every other carrier that serves the UK market is promoting a January sale and with consumers not spending as much you think that they would be doing something to promote business in other countries and have special offers!

As the OP mentioned, there are some good deals now available ex AMS. What do you think the chances are of KLM having a sale for other countries, such as the UK market etc? Find it strange that they are not promoting one, given that nearly every other carrier that serves the UK market is promoting a January sale and with consumers not spending as much you think that they would be doing something to promote business in other countries and have special offers!

If a ticket in the UK market would normally sell at GBP500 and they would put it in a sale for GBP400, that means with the current exchange rate (although the last two days the pound climbed again) they would get only about EUR440 for those GBP400. Better put it in a Euro-market as there is more money to be made. The pounds KLM earns in the UK are worth a lot less these day, so less of an attractive market now?