Qantas hikes airfares in response to surging fuel costs amid Iran war
Qantas is set to hike airfareson its international routesthis week in response to surging jet fuel costs amid tensions in the Middle East.
Qantas is set to hike airfares on its international routes this week in response to surging jet fuel costs amid tensions in the Middle East.
The national carrier on Tuesday says while it does not operate any flights to the Middle East and that services to and from Europe are continuing to operate as scheduled, volatile jet fuel prices are driving the group’s costs higher.
“We are continuing to closely monitor the impact the conflict in the Middle East is having on the volatility in jet fuel prices, which have risen by up to 150 per cent over the past fortnight,” Qantas said in a statement.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Qantas International is increasing fares this week in response to rising costs including the significant increases in jet fuel prices. These increases will vary from route to route.”
The airline said its European routes — including Perth to London, Perth to Paris and services via Singapore — were more than 90 per cent full, which was about 15 percentage points higher than normal for this time of the year.
“Bookings for flights to and from Europe between April and June have also increased in recent weeks on these routes as well as the Perth-Rome seasonal service which resumes in May,” Qantas said.
“More customers have also been choosing to travel to Europe via the United States, other Asian cities and Johannesburg, connecting through Qantas’ partner airline network.”
Qantas is also trying to find more planes to service lucrative European routes, saying it was “exploring options to redeploy capacity into Europe on existing routes in the coming months”.
Qantas’ non-stop Perth to London service is now stopping in Singapore to refuel. While the detour adds time to the journey, Qantas has confirmed the stopover will also allow the plane to carry a heavier load, opening up seats for an additional 60 passengers per flight.
Since the Middle East conflict erupted at the end last month, Brent crude has risen as high as $US119.50 a barrel before easing back below $US95 on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump signalled the war could end “soon”.
It comes the same day Air New Zealand suspended its earnings guidance as wildly fluctuating jet fuel prices meant the assumptions it made less than two weeks ago were no longer valid.
