Originally Posted by
meiji
It's incredibly common. At one point LHR->SEA was twice the price of SEA->LHR. The airlines always used the fuel surcharge as an excuse as if the plans only fuel at one end. I asked my MP in the UK to explain it and he asked the minister for transport. Ultimately it was a case of "Yeah, that's how it is, airlines are allowed to do it".
It's not a fuel surcharge. Those using that term don't understand what YQ is and how it's presently used by airlines.