Loganair to add fuel surcharge to most routes due to soaring oil prices

Scottish airline Loganair has announced a £3.95 fuel surcharge on most flights because of soaring oil prices.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The charge will be added to tickets bought from Monday, March 21 and not apply to existing bookings.

It will not apply to routes between Glasgow and Barra, Tiree and Campbeltown, Dundee-London City, Derry-Stansted, and flights within Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles, which are protected by “public service obligations”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Glasgow-based airline said it had been “simply impossible” to absorb the impact of the energy price hike, but pledged to reduce or remove the charge if oil prices fell back.

Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said it had been "simply impossible" to absorb the oil price rise. Picture: LoganairLoganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said it had been "simply impossible" to absorb the oil price rise. Picture: Loganair
Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said it had been "simply impossible" to absorb the oil price rise. Picture: Loganair

Chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said: "The economic consequences of the war [in Ukraine] are being felt keenly across the airline industry, given the very significant rise in worldwide fuel prices in recent days.

Loganair has already fixed the price for over 50 per cent of its expected fuel volume for the 12 months from April 1, using financial hedging instruments.

"For the remainder of our fuel volume, the rise in global oil prices equates to an additional cost of £4.7 million in the coming year at today’s oil price.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"It is simply impossible for us to absorb this impact, especially where airlines including Loganair still face significant uncertainty over the pace of recovery in passenger numbers from the pandemic.

“We’ve realistically no option, but to introduce a fuel surcharge on new ticket sales from March 21.

"Many other international airlines have already taken this step.

Read More
Loganair will be first airline to add carbon charge to fares from July

“Although it will be unwelcome, I trust this represents a transparent response to worldwide circumstances which is preferable to an opaque, and permanent, increase in basic air fares.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The surcharge of £3.95 per one-way journey will apply on all new bookings made on routes, save for routes flown under public service obligations.

Brent crude oil reached $129 a barrel on Wednesday before falling back to $110 on Thursday.

Mr Hinkles said if the price of Brent crude oil fell below $110 per barrel for six consecutive weeks, the surcharge would be halved.

If it fell below $85 per barrel for six consecutive weeks, it would be removed.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.