Oil at $40 ... Effect on YQ (fuel sur-) charges?
Jan 24, 2015, 4:58 pm
#1
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Oil at $40 ... Effect on YQ (fuel sur-) charges?
The talk on the news - not that FlyerTalkers need to be told - is that airlines won't reduce fares because demand is so firm. But what about the fuel surcharges on international flights? Aren't they- supposedly - required to at least relate to actual fuel prices?
Jan 24, 2015, 5:22 pm
#3
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Jan 24, 2015, 8:21 pm
#4
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They've changed the name to "International Surcharge" in most cases and they're not really tied to fuel prices. Haven't been for some time (and some would argue never were).
They are more about controlling corporate discounts and joint-venture revenue sharing than anything else.
They are more about controlling corporate discounts and joint-venture revenue sharing than anything else.
Jan 24, 2015, 8:45 pm
#5
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Consider also that most of the airlines hedge on the fuel price several months in advance. This means they are still paying the price for the fuel that was agreed upon several months ago. Most are paying much more for the fuel than the current market price.
Jan 25, 2015, 2:10 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2010
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I'm not in the USA, so things may be a bit different, but I've found most airlines are calling YQ a "Carrier Imposed Surcharge" nowadays. However, when you dig deeper into the fare make up, it's still the Fuel Surcharge of old.
Jan 25, 2015, 8:34 am
#7
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They've changed the name to "International Surcharge" in most cases and they're not really tied to fuel prices. Haven't been for some time (and some would argue never were).
They are more about controlling corporate discounts and joint-venture revenue sharing than anything else.
They are more about controlling corporate discounts and joint-venture revenue sharing than anything else.
Jan 25, 2015, 1:33 pm
#9
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Jan 26, 2015, 2:23 pm
#11
Join Date: Jan 2010
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The net charge on your credit card would be less if you were using a discount which only applied to the base fare.
Jan 26, 2015, 2:45 pm
#12
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There are multiple targets for this deception (the airlines' frequent fliers being merely one), but the charges have nothing to do with fuel and never did. That was merely the convenient excuse du jour.
That said, YQ is amusing on one level: it suggests that passengers would have otherwise been willing to buy a ticket on a plane with no fuel in it.
