Oil price rise ups Virgin fuel surcharge
Richard Branson’s airline Virgin Atlantic today announced a hike in fuel surcharges for passengers due to rising oil prices.
From Thursday, Virgin passengers will pay an extra £6 on a one-way fare, taking the surcharge from the existing figure of £10 up to £16.
“We have reluctantly decided to do this because of the rise in the price of oil,” said a Virgin spokesman tonight.
He added: “As a long-haul airline, fuel is around one-quarter of our costs and any increase in fuel prices hits us harder than other airlines.
“We will continue to keep the surcharge under review and adjust it if appropriate.”
The price of US crude rose from 43 dollars a barrel at the start of the year to a record 57 dollars last week.
British Airways is likely to follow Virgin later this week and announce its own surcharge increase.
It is thought that BA could add an extra £3 to both its short-haul and long-haul flight prices. This would take its long-haul one-way surcharge up to £13 and its short-haul up to £7.
