British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have confirmed they are to raise fuel surcharges due to continuing record oil prices.
The flag carrier said that from March 28th its longhaul fuel surcharge will increase from £10 per sector to £16, making £32 for a return trip; its shorthaul surcharge will increase from £4 per sector to £6, making £12 for a return trip.
Virgin Atlantic will increase its charges by £6 per sector from March 24th. The increased charges had been expected.
"Our fuel bill next year is expected to be an extra 300 million sterling. With prices continuing to rise, a surcharge increase is regrettably unavoidable," said BA commercial director Martin George.
The airline is 50 per cent hedged until December 31st, 2005, and 30 per cent hedged from January to March 2006.
Its overall fuel costs for the year 2004/2005 are estimated to be some £1.1 billion and some £1.4 billion for 2005/2006.
A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic said: "As a longhaul carrier our fuel costs represent a higher share of our costs at current prices of around a quarter." She said the level of charges will continue to be kept under review.