I just found out that NZ will be the first *Alliance airline to introduce a fuel surcharge on all flights starting Monday the 17th of May
. Domestic flights $6 and international $15 to $20 depending on the distance. For me that means that my two "free" award tickets from SYD to PPT will cost me
70% more in additional taxes namely about $170 instead of $100 from the beginning of next week!
I post this here as I think more *Alliance airlines will probably introduce this surcharge and it'll add a significant amount of money to our hard earned "free" tickets. Once again this makes me think why the airlines can't be forced to cover all those extra airline surcharges for award tickets like the hotels do for their award stays. Why is it that we FFs put up with it and the airlines get away with charging us for our award tickets whereas the hotel programs don't?
Unfortunately, there is no other option to fly to the Pacific islands and I guess NZ is well aware of that fact. It just makes me mad that this will most of all have an impact on leisure travellers flying to the Pacific with family as those routes are very popular for awards. So, if you plan to take your loved one to Tahiti or the Cook Islands, book your ticket fast or be prepared for the 70% price hike...
Also, any guesses that this surcharge won't be taken away until the oil price hits the $20 mark again...until then it generates some nice additional revenue for the airlines...too bad that they won't invest it into planes that use less fuel.