Aer Lingus Hikes Fuel Charge

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Aer Lingus Hikes Fuel Charge

May 15, 2008

By April Drew

AER Lingus increased their fuel surcharge, effective Wednesday, May 14 on all trans-Atlantic flights by up to 30 percent in an effort to combat the rising price of oil and the airline’s rising fuel bill.

Passengers traveling between Dublin or Shannon and New York, Chicago, Washington and Boston will now be required to pay an additional €65 ($100) each way onto the price of their ticket. Up to now passengers were expected to pay €100 ($155) round trip.

Customers flying with Aer Lingus from Ireland to Orlando will be expected to pay a surcharge of up to €75 ($110). Similar, passengers making trips to San Francisco and Los Angeles will be required to pay an additional €75 ($99) to €90 ($120) per ticket.

No fuel surcharge will be applied to any of the 82 short haul routes it operates within Ireland and the European Union.

This is the seventh increase since the airline first introduced fuel surcharges in May 2006 and as recently as March, Aer Lingus added a significant increase.

According to Enda Corneille, Aer Lingus’s corporate affairs director, the price of oil had risen to a record high in recent weeks.

“Today’s increases in our surcharges reflect the continuing effect the high price of oil is having on our long haul operation,” he told reporters.

He did, however, promise that the company will be constantly monitoring any changes in oil prices. “Aer Lingus will keep the level of the surcharges under constant review and make adjustments where appropriate,” he said.

Last week, Aer Lingus also announced it would increase its fee for checking in luggage for its short-haul flights by up to 50%.

Similar to Aer Lingus, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, the Dutch branch of Air France and KLM have also increased their fuel surcharge and it is expected that all major airlines will follow suit in coming weeks.

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