FuelClub Discount

American Airlines on Wednesday raised its fuel surcharge by $20 per round trip, after a failed attempt to raise fares, according to reports.

Spokesman Tim Wagner said the surcharge would apply on domestic routes except those where the carrier competes with low-fare airlines.

American, a subsidiary of Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), and several other airlines attempted to raise fares by $20 over the weekend, but failed as some carriers didn’t match the increases.
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According to the oil producers’ cartel Opec, the blame lies with speculators in the international markets. But Tony Hayward, chief executive of BP, describes that view as “a myth”.

He argues that the main cause is the tight balance between global supply and demand.

BP’s new Statistical Review of World Energy - a key information source for many people in the industry - highlights what has been going on.
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High fuel prices have triggered a wave of thefts of low-tax red diesel, used for tractors and other agricultural machinery, from farms across Britain.

NFU Mutual, the leading provider of insurance to rural enterprises, reports that the number of claims for stolen red diesel are up 30 per cent in the first five months of the year. So far, there have been 50 claims involving a total of ?100,000.

However, the loss of diesel alone is not the only problem for farmers. Often thieves leave the pump nozzle open, so that diesel runs away on to the ground leading to serious pollution. The cost of the clean-up is more than the price of the fuel.

The cost of red diesel is 65p a litre, of which 9.69p is tax. A year ago the average price of red diesel was 38p a litre. In 2002 farmers paid 17p a litre.
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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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Oil futures slid on Monday as analysts warned of a “price bubble” that could burst soon after crude rocketed to record heights near $140 per barrel late last week.

Oil prices soared beyond $139 on Friday after a shock jump in US unemployment sent the dollar reeling and Wall Street plunging by more than 3 percent amid fears of sharply slower economic growth.

New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, gave back $0.99 to $137.55 a barrel on Monday.

The contract had spiked on Friday by $10.75 a barrel - the biggest-ever one-day jump - after soaring to an all-time high of $139.12.
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Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has flown into Japan to try to turn the tension with his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Fukuda into a new partnership to tackle climate change, broaden security ties and “apply the blowtorch” to oil cartel OPEC to force it to increase production.

Mr Rudd urged the coming G8 meeting - which Mr Fukuda will chair next month in northern Hokkaido - to pressure OPEC to increase oil supplies and drive down prices. Prices for oil futures hit a new record of $US138.54 on Friday, up $US16.50 in two days and prompting warnings that petrol prices in Australia could reach $A1.70 a litre within days.

Interviewed on television before leaving Australia, Mr Rudd dodged a question on the potential impact of emissions trading on petrol prices, but promised that the Government would provide support to “families under financial pressure” to offset the additional costs they will face from higher energy prices.
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