Northwest Airlines to add $80 fuel surcharge on round-trip flights

In yet another instance of increase in air fares effected by airlines worldwide in their frantic attempt to cope with record-high prices of aviation fuel, Northwest Airlines has decided to raise fares for some of its domestic round-trip tickets by up to $80.  The planned increase will affect ticket prices on 7,000 city pairs, which represents less than two-thirds of Northwest Airlines’ city pairs.

The move by Northwest Airlines comes just weeks after United Airlines added a $20 fuel surcharge on round-trip travel.

Northwest already has fuel surcharges in other markets.

In a statement, Northwest Airlines said the hike in fuel surcharge would apply to travel on about 7,000 routes beginning January 10, 2009.

Northwest Airlines had earlier added baggage fees to fares.

The proposed surcharge, which will match surcharges added by competitors, will cover less than two-thirds of Northwest Airlines’ city pairs. And, when the hike comes into effect, it will be the largest fare increase since United Airlines, a major airline of the United States and a subsidiary of UAL Corporation, increased base fare by $70 in April 2008.

Northwest Airlines, a principal subsidiary of Northwest Airlines Corporation and a major airline of the United States, is headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, near Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, the United States. Northwest has 3 major hubs in the United States: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, and Memphis International Airport. The airline operates flights from a small hub in Asia at Narita International Airport near Tokyo, Japan, and also operates trans-Atlantic flights in cooperation with partner KLM from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In addition, Northwest Airlines maintains focus city operations at Indianapolis International Airport, Honolulu International Airport, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Northwest Airlines handles 7.4% of the passenger traffic at Albany International Airport, New York, the United States. It is also the leading passenger air carrier in Michigan and handles the majority of travellers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

In the statement, a spokeswoman for Northwest Airlines justified the hike in fares saying that the fuel surcharge was needed to offset the high price of fuel and pointed to the fact that similar increases were effected by United Airlines and US Airways.

The website FareCompare.com reports that there have been 21 airfare hikes in 2008.

Northwest Airlines is being acquired by Delta Air Lines, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States. When the merger materialises, the “new” Delta would become the world’s largest carrier.