Malaysia Airlines Fuel Surcharge Ripoff
Mar 29, 2009, 11:08 am
#31
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I am flying MH NRT-KUL-PER in C in a couple of months -- I used airflyer's trick on the MH website to pull up taxes and fees on my itin, and while quoted in yen it converted to about US$286 -- ouch. I presume you can pay the fee with a credit card at check-in @ NRT? And, spunk_tokyo, any idea how far the fees will drop this week? Thanks...
Mar 29, 2009, 5:07 pm
#32
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What agents? NWA phone agents? I have never heard of NWA asking you to pay this fee over the phone. Nor have I heard of MH agents asking for this over the phone - IF they collect this fee, it's always at the airport.
You are talking about NWA Award tickets on MH, correct?
You are talking about NWA Award tickets on MH, correct?
Both times I've contacted MH for seat assignments (once before I canceled the LAX-KUL-BKK leg and once after) I've been asked if I want to pay the fee over the phone but they are fine with my response that I'll pay at the airport.
Mar 29, 2009, 7:32 pm
#33
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Once again, MH is inconsistent about this issue. I've called MH's NY number a few times for seat assignments, and was never asked to pony up for the surcharge.
Mar 31, 2009, 9:41 am
#34
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Mar 31, 2009, 12:11 pm
#35
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Apr 1, 2009, 7:15 pm
#37
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Apr 12, 2009, 11:25 am
#38
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I just checked the fuel surcharge on a dummy booking on KUL to NRT on the same day that I have an award flight in June and it looks like they have gone down substantially. For one-way it is about $20 instead of $120+. I also have a HKT to KUL one-way ticket and the surcharge is just over $38 now.
Apr 12, 2009, 11:56 am
#39
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Great news. I'm dong a similar trip in June also. On the flip side of the coin, keep checking your itineraries and ExpertFlyer to make sure your flights hold up. MH is doing some short-notice reductions (due I guess to low loads) and my NRT-KUL on 24 June was just cancelled. (Fortunately it's a 2x/day service on that day, and I seem to have been rolled over to the other departure.)
Apr 12, 2009, 12:41 pm
#40
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Great news. I'm dong a similar trip in June also. On the flip side of the coin, keep checking your itineraries and ExpertFlyer to make sure your flights hold up. MH is doing some short-notice reductions (due I guess to low loads) and my NRT-KUL on 24 June was just cancelled. (Fortunately it's a 2x/day service on that day, and I seem to have been rolled over to the other departure.)
Apr 22, 2009, 11:29 pm
#41
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Anyway, I found that if you go to the MH website, start a new booking for the flight you want, select the full flex fare then hit next. Then select the details link under "TAX", and look at the YQ coded tax "Admin fee, Fuel (where applicable) and other surcharges" and this is the price I was quoted exactly. Tried the three different combos of flights I had asked about and the price was always exactly as quoted.
I do not understand why they are charging the equivalent of approximately US$140.00 in taxes, fees and fuel surcharges.
Has anyone tried redeeming 20,000 Northwest WorldPerks miles and not being charged a surcharge for the round-trip flight between Singapore and Phuket?
Apr 23, 2009, 3:12 pm
#42
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To report back, we flew our one Malaysia leg HKT-KUL on Apr 18 and they didn't ask for the surcharge.
Also, read about the reduction of the surcharge in the inflight mag. Not sure where the reduction is as I just checked the LAX-BKK flight that I originally was going to take and the surcharge is exactly the same for May/Jun as it was originally quoted for our Apr flight. I checked the HKT-KUL leg the day before we departed and the surcharge was still the same also.
Also, read about the reduction of the surcharge in the inflight mag. Not sure where the reduction is as I just checked the LAX-BKK flight that I originally was going to take and the surcharge is exactly the same for May/Jun as it was originally quoted for our Apr flight. I checked the HKT-KUL leg the day before we departed and the surcharge was still the same also.
Apr 23, 2009, 7:59 pm
#43
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My parents flew MH AMS-KUL-BKK-KUL-AMS.
Good news is that they were never charged a fuel surcharge (and MH agents took a GOOD look at their reservations, because...)
Bad news is that because their NWA award ticket was reissued several times (due to MH flight cancelleations and rescheduling), the MH agent in AMS wasn't able to find their ticket # in the system. Ultimately, the agent HAND WROTE boarding passes for them and sent them on their way to AMS.
This meant all subsequent segments were cancelled, which caused them long delays in KUL, not to mention lots of frustration!
Good news is that they were never charged a fuel surcharge (and MH agents took a GOOD look at their reservations, because...)
Bad news is that because their NWA award ticket was reissued several times (due to MH flight cancelleations and rescheduling), the MH agent in AMS wasn't able to find their ticket # in the system. Ultimately, the agent HAND WROTE boarding passes for them and sent them on their way to AMS.
This meant all subsequent segments were cancelled, which caused them long delays in KUL, not to mention lots of frustration!
Apr 30, 2009, 4:22 pm
#44
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What a pain! Thanks for the report, as my ticket's been reissued a couple of times also... but since then, I've called MH's US reservation line, quoted my MH confirmation code, and they definitely see me in the system, seat assignments and all -- so here's hoping I'm OK. Cool that the fuel surcharge was overlooked for you also.
Jun 23, 2009, 5:48 pm
#45
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Update to say I'm here at NRT awaiting my MH flight, MRT-KUL-PER, and just got nicked for JPY12,180 for "insurance and fuel surcharge." That's on a J award (which gains you access into the very nice QF lounge in the T2 satellite BTW). Maybe they think an oddly precise amount makes an arbitrary shakedown number sound more credible.
The lead check-in agent landside did say there is talk of doing away with these charges starting in July.
The lead check-in agent landside did say there is talk of doing away with these charges starting in July.