Frequent travelers have probably heard of fuel surcharges. Some people are indignant at the very idea of paying for it, others just resigned themselves. So what is fuel surcharge?
When buying a ticket from a tour operator or when booking an air ticket, such a concept as a fuel surcharge appears, increasing the final cost by 40-150 dollars or euros. As a rule, the thought arises: "What is this fuel surcharge in general and why should I pay it?"
Fuel surcharge
Fuel surcharge is a certain amount that is separately added to the main cost of the tour or air ticket. It is worth emphasizing that some airlines / travel agencies indicate the tax separately, while others include it in the air ticket price. It is revealed, as a rule, when announcing the final cost of a ticket / tour at an agency or when entering payment data on the airline's website. The fuel surcharge is created in order to compensate for the difference in ticket prices when the price of fuel rises. Since constantly recalculating the new cost is simply inconvenient, unprofitable, and there is no point in creating confusion.
Foreign airlines also charge a fuel surcharge.
Fuel surcharge
So how much is the hated fuel surcharge worth? The standard cost for low cost airlines averages $ 40 per person. These are UTair (UTair), Vim-Avia, Ural Airlines and other large domestic carriers with a wide geography of flights around the world. Additional payment for fuel for a Transaero airline flight from tour operators, for example, from Anex Tour, is about $ 80 per person. The highest fuel surcharges are for Aeroflot, the main Russian and the only Soviet carrier. For travel agencies, Aeroflot's fuel surcharge ranges from $ 80 (a rare case) to $ 150 per person.
The fuel surcharge is always present and depends directly on the airline.
By the way, if we talk about the fuel surcharge in travel agencies, then it is charged just for flights to Turkey and Egypt. Tours to Europe for some reason, known only to the charter department, usually do without additional payments, except for a visa and other additional services. Not all travel companies, by the way, separate the fuel surcharge separately. This is Biblio-Globus, for example, which forms its packages on Transaero flights, and the cost indicated on the website, if the country is not a visa, is final.
There are times when various promotions are held, both by travel agencies and by airlines. And then, as they say, "fuel surcharge as a gift." A minimum of $ 80 is saved from a voucher for two, and this is already how many rubles, but less.
It is worth emphasizing that travel companies, as a rule, do not profit from tourists by collecting additional money for fuel, although there are exceptions. Of course, charter flights are fully redeemed by tour operators and set their own prices, but the final rules are still set by the airlines.
