Fuel Surcharge Differences on xONEx Fares
 

Since YQ fuel surcharges vary by carrier on a given sector, is it the case that by selecting one carrier over another for a sector (or changing from one to another when a ticket is rerouted/reissued) the total paid can be reduced? Do some OW carriers include the fuel charge in the fare, thus making them a less expensive option on a multi-carrier ticket such as a xONEx, as no additional charge would be made on those sectors? And lastly, do certain ticket issuers (carriers) charge YQs on other carrier sectors, while others do not?

I would very much appreciate any illumination that can be provided on the murky (at least for me) realm of fuel surcharges on RTW tickets, which can, it seems add up to pretty substantial amounts.

Yes

No. Fuel surcharge is always extra ...

... but some airlines don't charge as much

... or at all on other airlines flights (whereas other airlines charge on all flights as if they fly all the sectors).

Look for airlines with lower fuel surcharge practices (eg AA) and avoid airlines with penal practices (eg BA, QF). With the online xONEx tool you can check for yourself the effect of some changes are on fuel surcharges.

Note, it is the ticketing airline that matters most, although flown airline(s) also matter in some cases.

I guess I should retract everything negative I've ever said about AA!
 

Thanks so much for the helpful and complete response. When you refer to AA as an example of better fuel surcharge practices, do you mean in regard to their not charging on other carrier sectors on RTW (or other multi carrier) tickets, or simply that their surcharges for AA flights are less than the same sectors on other carriers?

I currently have a paper JAL RTW that will need to be re-issued. I guess doing so with AA might save me some $. And I see from comments here that many consider the AA RTW desk to be among the better choices.

I gather the oneworld tool will show differences by issuing carrier if one chooses different carriers for he first sector.

I think JAL is lowering their fuel surcharge significantly by April so JL could be one additional carrier (to AA) that could provide favorable xONEx overall ticketing price.

wouldn't it be nice to start a thread that lists information on fuel surcharge practice on xONEx tickets by various OW carriers?

It's not so much "lower" surcharges.

When booking though Qantas, they assess a fuel fine on EVERY segment whether they operate/market it or not!

When booking through AA, they only assess fuel fines on their own markets flight numbers.

I don't think LAN have any ...

If AA issues the ticket, then it only charges YQ on its own long-haul segments; this includes AA codeshares on other carriers' metal.
It doesn't charge YQ on its domestic & short-haul segments (eg to/from Caribbean), and it doesn't collect YQ for other carriers on the ticket. I'm not sure if AA's YQ is lower or higher than other carriers' YQ on those sectors where it does charge YQ, but overall on a 16 segment *ONE* its total YQ is lower than other OW carriers.

For example, Mrs P and I flew PER-SYD-JFK-BGI-BOS-LHR... on a LONE4. The five flights indicated were AA flights, the first two codeshare on QF metal. We paid YQ on PER-SYD-JFK and BOS-LHR only (AUD505 total IIRC). The rest of ticket (all non-AA flights) and the two flights JFK-BGI-BOS have no YQ.

xONEx flight changes and YQ charges
 

And I suppose that if AA issued a xONEx with, for example, JL from JFK-NRT, and then changed it to AA later (for schedule, upgrade, or availability reasons) the change would not require reissue, and thus no additional YQ would, in practice be charged, yes?

I'm not sure how it's supposed to work, but the scenario you outline has been my experience several times so far.

Is there an easy way to estimate how big the difference is likely to be in fuel surcharges in booking from one carrier to the next? Are current policies documented anywhere? Or do you need to call to get a quote from various carriers in order to get a sense of the difference?

One straightforward way is to use the online tool to dummy book two almost identical routing, one with carrier "A" marketing the first segment, the other with carrier "B" doing so. Then compare the results.

e.g. out of Oz, I have used an AA codeshare flight CBR-SYD for the first segment, then QF for the same actual flight. The difference is surprising.

Having done what serfty has suggested, I beg to differ that AA is the preferred carrier to ticket RTW itinerary due to fuel surcharge issues.

The itinerary is ICN-NRT-JFK-SCL-LAX-LHR-HEL-ICN.

The 1st attempt was a same day transit in NRT enroute to JFK. AA and its codeshare were selected. The taxes and fees listed were 503,000 KRW and the AA booking page was displayed.

The 2nd attempt changed the transit in NRT to a stopover. All dates and carriers were the same except for the ICN-NRT flight. That flight departed 1 day earlier and had JL as the carrier code. The taxes and fees listed were 263,100 KRW and the QF booking page was displayed. That is about $160 US less.

So, is this an exception or the beginning of a worrisome trend?

I have a saved ex-ICN AONE5 itinerary on the tool that I just went back to, in an attempt to replicate your experience. In mine the taxes were KRW 653,000 when I used AA*/AA as the same day transfer through NRT, but when I changed the first flight to JL, the taxes on the QF screen jumped to 1,795,300. A review of the QF tax breakdowns show 4 new tax lines (compared to the AA purchase screen):

Airline Fuel Surcharge 1,049,300
Passenger Service Facilities Charge - Japan 32,400
Airline Insurance Surcharge 24,000
Multiple Surcharges 36,600

I think that it would be useful if you could please compare the 2 dozen or so tax line details to see which changed between the AA and QF purchase screens, and report back.

[In the meanwhile, my experience supports sticking with AA for ticketing....]

I never actually specified any particular airline other than "A" and "B" then used an example of what a result for a specific routing/booking I trief.

I believe LAN do not charge fuel surcharges at all and can be less expensive than any other carrier.

AA will charge fuel surcharges on their marketed intercontinental flights.

I would suggest for any desired routing one each of several possible airlines to see you best fit.

Just for a comparison (the TA forgot about my request to issue via AA initially):

ex-ICN DONE4 with CX as ticketing carrier had +++s of KRW 1 601 400

Same itinerary plated on AA has +++s of KRW 909 400.

Difference of KRW 692 000 which is about AUD 702.62 or USD 448.04 . A stunning difference (especially from an AUD perspective)!

The TATL is on AA.

edit: itinerary is - ICN-xHKG-MEL-WLG-MEL-LHR-DOH-xLHR-LAX-xMIA-ATL-MIA-JFK-HKG-DPS-xNRT-ICN

I've had ~$800 difference in fuel fines, for both *A and OW RTWs lately.