Sri Lankan Airlines to abolish fuel surcharge on short-haul and medium-haul flights, cut surcharge on long-haul ones

Sri Lankan Airlines, the national airline of Sri Lanka, has decidded to do away with fuel surcharges altogether to destinations in South Asia, Middle East and East Asia as well as reduce surcharges on long-haul flights from January 1, 2009.

The airline said in a statement: “Sri Lankan Airlines has completely removed its fuel surcharge on all tickets to short-haul and medium-haul destinations. The fuel surcharge on fares between Colombo and just five long-haul destinations – London, Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, and Tokyo – has also been greatly reduced.”

Sri Lankan Airlines has abolished fuel surcharges from cities in India and the Middle East, as well as Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Beijing, Male, and Karachi.

A flat surcharge rate of 25 euros (US $31.76) will be charged on one-way fares bought in Europe, and 50 euros for return tickets. Tickets bought in the United Kingdom will have a surcharge of 25 sterling pounds (US $36.89) one-way and 50 sterling pounds return.

Fares from all other points to the five long-haul destinations – London, Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, and Tokyo – will have a surcharge of US $25 one-way and US $50 return.

Sri Lankan Airlines introduced the fuel surcharge in July 2008 for short-haul, medium-haul and long-haul journeys when the price of crude oil reached a record high of US $147 a barrel. The price of crude oil has dropped in recent months.

The Sri Lankan Airlines statement explained: “The effects of reduction in the price of crude oil will take some time to impact on the cost of aviation fuel, and Sri Lankan Airlines is anticipating that it will begin reaping the benefit of reduced fuel prices by January 2009. The airline will, nevertheless, be closely monitoring the movement of fuel prices as this has a direct impact on profitability.”

The airline also said it has increased the efficiency of its fleet and has begun to replace older aircraft with newer fuel-efficient ones. The first of several new Airbus A320 planes had arrived on November 30, 2008.

Sri Lankan Airlines Limited, previously known as Air Lanka, has its hub at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo. It now flies to 45 destinations in 25 countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Sri Lankan Airlines is not a part of any airline alliance, but it had a partnership, that expired on March 31, 2008, with Emirates Airline (which has a stake of 43.6% in Sri Lankan Airlines). It has codeshare agreement with a few airlines.