The Hindu Business Line : UAE-India air travel set to cost more

AIRFARES on the UAE-India sector are expected to rise significantly from mid-September as major airlines hike fuel surcharge in the wake of a steep increase in global oil prices.

Emirates airline has announced a 33 per cent increase in fuel surcharge from September 14, while officials of Air India and Indian Airlines said they were "monitoring the situation at present."

However, they could soon follow suit if all the airlines operating out of the Gulf hiked fuel surcharge. Air India's Regional Director, Gulf and West Asia, Mr Sanjeev Talwar, told Business Line that the airline was monitoring the market.

"Normally the decision to hike surcharge is taken at a Board of Airline Representatives (BAR) meeting. However, since the national airline (Emirates) has decided to hike the surcharge, most other airlines will follow.

"We have no choice as fuel costs have shot up," he said. The hike could be on par with that of Emirates," he added.

"Fortunately, since this is the lean period, not many passengers will be affected. Since there is no indication of oil prices going down in the near future, the new levy could remain for some time," he said.

An Indian Airlines official said that the airline would decide on hiking the fuel surcharge only after a consensus was reached at a BAR meeting.

But with Thai Airways and Cathay Pacific already announcing hikes and the likelihood of other carriers following suit, air travel for Gulf travellers is set to become dearer in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Emirates airline in its statement said that for all its destinations, there would be a fuel surcharge of Dh 160 for one-way and Dh 320 for return trips, the only exceptions being Amman, Beirut and Dammam, which would attract slightly lower charge. An average fuel surcharge of $45 for one-way travel and $90 on return tickets will be levied on tickets booked from destinations across the airline's network.

"Emirates has spared no effort to offset the huge escalation in jet fuel prices through stringent cost-containment measures across its operations.

These measures have proved insufficient, leaving us no alternative but to revise the fuel surcharges," the statement added.

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