Canadian carriers decide to delay reduction of fuel surcharges

Passengers looking to travel with major Canadian airlines-including Air Canada, Porter Airlines and WestJet-will likely be dismayed to find that these companies have decided to delay reducing the fuel fee added on to all tickets, even though several European airlines have already decided to decrease these surcharges, as the price of oil continued to decline on the world market.

Oil prices have now reached a six month low, having finally fallen under the $100 per barrel threshold. The last time rates stood at this level was in March. Yet all airlines raised their existing fuel surcharges, or introduced them for the first time early this summer, when oil hovered at well above $120 per barrel. Since then, both Air France and Lufthansa have agreed to pass down some of these savings to consumers, by lowering the surcharge. Singapore Airlines is also following the same policy.

But airlines in Canada seem to be especially reticent to lower their rates. A WestJet spokesperson, for example, remained totally noncommittal, saying simply that the airline would “keep a close eye” on the price of oil, but that a decision has yet to be reached. Air Canada’s message sounded similar. The North American country’s flag carrier similar promised to continue to offer competitive rates and elusively noted that it would “take appropriate action.” Porter Airlines, Canada’s only full-service airline on domestic and North American flights, confirmed that its fuel prices would remain unchanged, even though analysts point out that the Bombardier-manufactured turboprop planes it uses are especially fuel efficient.

Thank you to Allison Lampert of the Montreal Gazette for the initial report.

www.aircanada.com