KUALA LUMPUR – As hinted by Capital A CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes yesterday, AirAsia Malaysia will be reintroducing fuel surcharges from March 8 onwards, between RM10 and RM60, for all its domestic and international flights.
Customers are expected to foot an extra RM10 for each domestic flight while a surcharge of RM25 to RM60 applies to international flights.
The fuel surcharges will be applicable for new flight bookings made on and after March 8. All bookings made prior to March 8 will not be affected.
“The reintroduction of the fuel surcharge by AirAsia is to offset the escalating jet fuel prices, which has exceeded US$120 per barrel,” it said in a statement today.
The company added that it has not been implementing fuel surcharges since they were abolished in 2015, but instead absorbed the oil price increase over the years.
“Other carriers were already adjusting fares and increasing fuel and admin charges to counter rising operating costs as early as 2018.”
In addition, AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat said the rising oil prices are caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and other external factors.
“Unfortunately, the current situation where the oil price has shot up more than 160% than what it was in 2015 has made it no longer sustainable. We hope this will only be a temporary measure.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and at the same time capitalise on technological and digital innovations as ways to keep costs at bay and make air travel affordable for everyone.”
AirAsia first introduced fuel surcharge in 2005 and abolished it in 2008, and later reintroduced it in 2011. – The Vibes, March 5, 2022
