Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the flag carrier of Germany, and British Airways, the national airline and flag carrier of the United Kingdom, have reduced fuel surcharges following a fall in the price of crude oil.

Lufthansa, based in Cologne, Germany, and Europe’s second biggest airline, reduced its fees for domestic and European flights by 11% to 24 euros and for long-haul flights by 5% to 92 euros. The reductions apply to all tickets bought starting October 20, 2008.

In a statement, Deutsche Lufthansa AG said: “Lufthansa has always adapted its fuel charge based on the fluctuating price of oil. It is not something you can do everyday, but we will continue monitor the price for possible cuts further down the line and will make any future adjustments to the fuel surcharge dependent on further trends in the price of jet fuel.”

British Airways, with its main hubs at London’s Heathrow Airport and London’s Gatwick Airport, and Europe’s third-largest airline, said in a statement that the fee for economy-class passengers on long-haul flights longer than 9 hours would be reduced to 96 pounds (€123) from 109 pounds as of midnight of October 20, 2008. World Traveller Plus premium-economy customers of British Airways will pay 114.50 pounds – a drop of 5.4%. However, fees for first-class and business-class travellers remain the same.

The reduction in fuel surcharge effected by British Airways will bring down the cost of a return trip to long-distance destinations such as Los Angeles by up to £26 for economy-class passengers, bringing the levy down to £192. Shorter trips, like to New York, will cost £20 less, with the surcharge decreasing to £136.

In cutting the fuel surcharge, both Deutsche Lufthansa and British Airways have followed the Air France-KLM Group, Europe’s largest carrier, based in Paris, France, and Virgin Atlantic Airways, based in London, the United Kingdom.

The price of oil has dropped by 49% since touching a record high of $147.27 a barrel on July 11, 2008.

The cut in fuel surcharge by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways comes amid widespread complaints that airlines, which had been quick to jack up surcharges when prices of oil went up, have been slow in passing on the benefit to consumers as the price of oil dropped recently.

Meanwhile, in a press release, Ryanair, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier, dismissed the reductions carried out by Deutsche Lufthansa and British Airways as “a token gesture” and announced that Ryanair  “could cut all its surcharges by 40%”

However, according to aviation analysts, United States-based carriers will be slower, compared to Europe-based airlines, in cutting fuel surcharges. While Delta Air Lines has said it plans to keep its fuel surcharges intact, American Airlines and United Airlines have announced that they have reduced fuel charges slightly on certain international routes, but only where other carriers have done so. JetBlue Airways, the low-cost airline headquartered in the Forest Hills neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens, does not add extra fuel charges to its ticket prices.