According to travel agents the fuel surcharge that has increased on British Airways flights has not made flying unaffordable. The Association of British Travel Agents described BA’s move that was announced on the 29th May as a response to high fuel prices as “inevitable”. Sean Tipton of ABTA said that “These are increased prices to reflect the state of the market. All airlines are feeling the pinch of increased costs. It’s inevitable that if you have an aviation fuel price increase, the airlines will have to pass it on.”

This move now means that BA’s short-haul flights have risen by £3 per flight to £16 and have risen £6 for a return flight to £32. Long haul flights less than nine hours are now £15 more expensive, with the surcharge rising to £78 per flight and £156 return. The charge on flights of more than nine hours is up by £30 per flight.

A spokesman for BA said that “Fuel prices continue to soar and have reached new record levels. It is now our single biggest cost,” the spokesman said. We now expect our fuel costs to be £3 billion in this financial year - £1 billion higher than last year.”

What do you think of this increase?

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