AIR TRAVEL:THE IRISH subsidiary of Thomson Travel has said it has no immediate plans to introduce fuel surcharges despite its parent being one of a number of big tour operators in the UK which rolled out a range of new charges earlier this week.
Falcon/JWT, which is part of the UK travel giant’s stable of tour operators, told The Irish Times that it was a separate business and that no decision had been made on the introduction of fuel surcharges here.
A spokeswoman said that the company was continuously reviewing its pricing, and its terms and conditions allowed it to introduce fuel surcharges if it felt they were unavoidable but it would not necessarily be following the Thomson lead.
Thomas Cook was another big player in the UK to announce the introduction of surcharges this week and tourists departing the UK will be forced to pay additional charges ranging from £7.50 (€8.75) per person up to £40 (€46.70) for people travelling on long haul flights. The brands affected are Thomas Cook, Airtours, Sunset, Manos and Club 18-30. First Choice has also announced surcharges.
Thomas Cook said the increases were unavoidable due to the rising price of oil and jet fuel, which it said had gone up by over 40 per cent in the last 12 months.
The head of Thomas Cook UK and Ireland Ian Ailles said the company had “worked hard to keep the impact of the rising fuel costs on our holidaymakers to a minimum but the fuel levy is an unavoidable result of the rising price of oil”.
The news comes a week after Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, warned of possible fuel surcharges across the industry.
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