UK Ferry Tickets

Have a close look at the ‘terms and conditions’ section of your favourite travel websites and see if you can find the words ‘NO SURCHARGE guarantee’. The price you see should be the price you pay.  I mention this because there could be precious few companies offering these guarantees in the future as the price of fuel fluctuates.

Last year, before any talk of an oil crisis, the issue of surcharges was already a bone of contention. Lawyers forbid me to name names, but many travel companies were adding on a totally unjustifiable fuel surcharge on each holiday and making millions of pounds in the process.

I’ll give you a fictitious example that illustrates the point. Operator x was charging £300 for a week’s holiday in Greece plus £20 fuel supplement when, in reality, it had bought its fuel in advance, the prices were pretty stable anyway and there was no reason for the charge.

Why didn’t it just price its holidays at £320?, you might ask. After all, it’s up to you what you charge for a package.

Well, in a very competitive market, that operator wanted to appear cheaper than anyone else. The headline price of £300 grabbed people’s attention and the fuel surcharge was slipped in later, almost unnoticed. If the operator had been upfront and charged £320, it would not have secured nearly as many bookings.

Fast-forward to today and fuel prices have risen. Not all operators and airlines are profiteering and many have a case for putting up prices. But shouldn’t they also just charge a higher headline fare?

In the wake of hurricane Katrina, airlines like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are adding extra fuel charges to air fares. Passengers on BA or Virgin flights face taxes of up to £167 on long haul routes after fuel surcharges were raised for the fifth time in 18 months. The fuel supplement element is now £60, up from £48, per return flight.

Simon Evans from the Air Transport Users’ Council said: “I’m totally perplexed as to why these airlines are not absorbing operating costs into the headline fares. We accept rising fuel costs, but by adding significant extra charges passengers will soon find the £100 fare they started with ends up as £200 when they come to pay.”

And, argues Evans, why doesn’t the fuel surcharge vary depending on the length of your journey?

Meanwhile, no-frills airline Ryanair trumpets loudly that it never has charged, and never will charge, fuel supplements. But it does charge extra for airport taxes and for bookings by credit cards.

All-inclusive prices could soon be a thing of the past for many companies. But the change won’t be welcomed by the public who I reckon are fed up with paying for all those extras on top of the price.

Guest Article by Jeremy Skidmore

Friday, September 30th, 2005