FuelClub Discount

Hawaiian Airlines has adopted a $20 increase each way in its fuel surcharge for flights between Hawaii and the mainland, including its service to San Jose.

The company cited the continuing escalation in fuel costs resulting from record-level oil prices as the reason behind the fuel surcharge increase. Hawaiian raised its fuel surcharge between Hawaii and the mainland to $100 from $65 on May 27. The latest increase brings the fuel surcharge to $120.

“The relentless rise in fuel costs leaves us with no choice but to pass some of these increasing costs on to the consumer,” Keoni Wagner, Hawaiian’s vice president of public affairs, said in a news release.
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Virgin Blue is considering charging passengers more to check in luggage in a bid to recoup costs as fuel prices continue to skyrocket.

The airline’s CEO, Brett Godfrey, hinted yesterday a fee for check-in baggage was imminent.

“With checked bag screening and the amount of security and handling of a bag, a bag actually costs more to put through on to the aeroplane than it does a passenger,” he said.
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All airlines can do is cut, cut, cut. There is just no money left after dealing with increasingly rising fuel costs to continue at current levels.

Houston-based Continental Airlines (nyse: CAL - news - people ) announced Thursday it would cut 3,000 jobs and reduce capacity by 11% because of record fuel costs that have pushed the industry into its worst crisis since Sept. 11, 2001. It also said its two top executives will forgo pay for the rest of the year.

Continental said it will begin pulling back on flights in September, when departures on its mainline operations will be 16.0% below the numbers of September 2007. For the year, capacity will fall 11%. The airline said it will cut domestic flights another 1% to 3% in 2009. The market liked the news though. Shares of Continental rose 4.8%, or 70 cents, to $15.20, by the close of trading on Thursday .
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Airways New Zealand took its message on aircraft fuel saving to the world at the weekend.

With the focus of the International Air Transport Association’s annual meeting on the fuel and the environment, Airways’ chief executive Ashley Smout says the relationship between air traffic controllers and airlines is more crucial than ever.

Smout has been on a panel looking at greater efficiency by service providers and airlines at the meeting in Turkey.

Air traffic control rules and decisions account for around 12 per cent of aircraft fuel used globally, he said. “The key issue facing the airlines today is fuel. That represents millions of tonnes of CO2 - in New Zealand we’re leading the way in a number of areas in cutting that.”

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Saturday’s unprecedented 20% hike in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices has not only made domestic travel more expensive, but the fuel surcharge for international flights is all set to rise sharply as well. While airlines are expected to announce hikes by Tuesday, travel agents said an Indian carrier that flies abroad has already started charging higher surcharge from Sunday midnight itself.

“The fuel surcharge on a return Delhi-London sector flights has increased by almost Rs 1,000 from the earlier figure of Rs 10,390. Other sectors have also gone up but marginally for now. That may change by Tuesday,” said the travel agent. Unlike domestic flights that currently have two fixed levels of surcharge, each international sector has a different cess.

Singapore Airlines said it had recently hiked surcharge. “On India-Singapore sector, the surcharge has gone up from $80 to $95 per ticket. Flying to Australia via Singapore now has a surcharge of $190, up from earlier $160. Flying to US through Singapore now has a surcharge of $245, up from earlier $210,” said Gunjan Chanana, Singapore Airline spokesperson.
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Hey, if you were in the business of manufacturing products that some of your biggest customers could no longer afford to operate, you’d be scrambling for options, too.

The Berlin Air Show kicked off yesterday, and not surprisingly, much of the focus is on alternative fuels. The show takes place every two years and is a big deal: over 1,000 exhibitors from 37 countries gather at Berlin’s Schönefeld Airport to show off planes, cut deals, and talk about the state of the aerospace business.

Yesterday the two commercial jet giants took the stage to talk up some of their latest alternative fuel innovations.
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