British Airways is to drop the fuel surcharge by almost a third on longhaul services from tomorrow (December 18).

The decision reflects the reduction in the price of oil and BA’s fuel hedging policy for 2009/10.

The changes to the current fuel surcharge will mean:

World Traveller flights over nine hours will reduce by £30 per sector to £66. On flights of less than nine hours it will reduce by £15 per sector to £53.
World Traveller Plus flights over nine hours will reduce by £30 per sector to £84.50. On flights of less than nine hours it will reduce by £20 per sector to £63.
First and Club World flights over nine hours will reduce by £35 per sector to £98 and on shorter flights by £20 to £78.

The fuel surcharge on domestic and European services will also be reduced by £4 to £12 per sector. For Club Europe it will be reduced by £5 to £15 per sector.

Commercial director Robert Boyle said: “While the price of oil has reduced significantly, it remains a huge challenge. We still expect our fuel bill to be around £3 billion this year, which amounts to £8 million every day.

“The falling oil price is a symbol of deepening economic turmoil. In the face of the worst trading conditions the industry has ever seen, the International Air Transport Association predicts aviation will lose $5 billion this year and a further $2.5 billion next year.”