JUST IN...BA raises long-haul fuel surcharges

BA says fuel represents more than one-third of its costs

British Airways is increasing its fuel surcharge on long-haul flights because of high oil prices.

The airline said that the surcharge for economy seats would rise by £10 per flight and for premium tickets by £20 per flight from Friday, 8 April.
It is not increasing surcharges for domestic or short-haul flights.
Oil prices are currently at two-and-a-half year highs, with Brent crude trading at nearly £122 a barrel, pushed up by concerns about the Middle East.
BA's increase means that economy passengers on long-haul flights of less than nine hours will see their surcharge going up from £75 to £85.
The surcharge on economy flights of more than nine hours will rise from £88 to £98.
"As customers will know from the price at the petrol pumps, the cost of fuel has continued to rise significantly over the past three months. For us, fuel now represents over one-third of our costs and particularly affects our long-haul flights," Nick Swift, BA's chief financial officer, said.
"We are very aware of the wider economic pressures on our customers at the moment and we will bear the vast majority of the recent fuel price rise ourselves to keep this increase in surcharge to a minimum."
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