Aer Lingus Add Fuel Surcharge

Aer Lingus, are to increase their fuel surcharges on many long-haul flights to the United States as the price of oil continues to bite the aviation industry.

The new charges will be in effect from the 30th of July and will be found on flights to Orlando, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. The charges will not be applied to all flights however as services that operate on the east coast such as New York, Boston and Dulles Airport in Washington will so no increase in fuel surcharges.

Low-cost carrier Ryanair have hit out at Ryanair branding the decision to raise fuel surcharges as 'ridiculous timing' and went on to state that 'they increased their fuel surcharge on passengers precisely when fuel has fallen to its lowest level in two months'. Stephen McNamara, Head of Communications at Ryanair had the following to say on the announcement;

"Aer Lingus has repeatedly increased its fuel surcharge, taking it to a new peak with today’s 9th fuel surcharge increase as oil drops to $125 for the first time in seven weeks. As fuel prices are falling so too should their surcharge, yet today they slap another increase on their passengers.  This is confirmation that the airline has been using fuel surcharges as a mask for higher airfares. 

The Ryanair response is sure to anger the Aer Lingus management as the survival of many airlines hags in the balance with the price of oil set to remain high for the foreseeable future.

Published by: Jon Vickery