Lufthansa, Air Berlin, Air France-KLM, American Airlines raise fuel surcharges

Four major airlines of the world – Lufthansa, Air Berlin, Air France-KLM and American Airlines – have raised passenger fuel surcharges in the wake record-high prices of aviation fuel.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried, has decided to increase its surcharge on domestic German and European routes from €21 (US $32.66) to €24 (US $37.32) per flight. The surcharge on long-haul routes will go up from €82 (US $127.53) to €92 (US $143.09) per flight.

Lufthansa’s increased fuel surcharge will apply to all tickets issued on or after June 16, 2008.

Air Berlin PLC, Germany’s second largest carrier after Lufthansa and Lufthansa’s biggest rival in Germany, too will raise fuel surcharge from June 16, 2008. As a result, Air Berlin’s surcharge on domestic and European flights will jump from €22 (US $34.22) to €25 (US $38.88), while the levy on long-haul flights will rise from €85 (US $132.20) to €95 (US $147.75).

The last time both Lufthansa and Air Berlin had raised their fuel surcharges was in mid-May 2008.

Air France-KLM – headquartered at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris, France, and the largest airline company in the world in terms of total operating revenues, and the third largest in the world in terms of passenger-kilometres – said the group will increase fuel surcharges on its longest intercontinental flights by €20 to €121 ($188) per flight. The surcharge is to go up by €2 to €19 a flight within France; by €5 to €31 on medium- haul routes; and by €10 to €111 on intercontinental flights lasting 9 hours or less.

Air France-KLM will start charging the higher surcharge from June 13, 2008.

American Airlines, the world’s largest airline and a subsidiary of AMR Corporation based in Fort Worth, Texas, the United States, hiked its fuel surcharge by $20 per round trip on many routes starting June 12, 2008.

A spokesman for American Airlines said the increased surcharge applied on domestic routes except those where the carrier competes with low-fare airlines.

In addition, American Airlines will, from next week, charge $15 to check a single bag.

In the face of soaring fuel costs, airlines worldwide may report combined losses amounting to $6.1 billion in 2008, the worst since 2003, according to the International Air Transport Association, the international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.