Are the airlines having a laugh ?

Kaapstad

Kaapstad

Kaapstad

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I was just looking at the prices of air fares to South Africa and noticed that there is still a fuel surcharge of over £200 on the price.

The above I don't understand as the news keeps telling me that oil prices have hit a record low for the last 5 years.

Are the airlines having a laugh ?
 
Probably locked into a hedging agreement - they could well have agreed prices many months ago and are now on the losing side of the oil price having dropped so sharply.
 
I just bought return flights from Heathrow to PE via Jo'burg for just over £600... that's a fantastic price and the lowest I've seen it in years!
 
It seems they're hedging, which sounds very rural so must be the same as cottaging, which also sounds very rural. Why that would make your air fare more expensive I can't say.
 
FortuitousFluke said:
It seems they're hedging, which sounds very rural so must be the same as cottaging, which also sounds very rural. Why that would make your air fare more expensive I can't say.
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I think maybe George Michael could explain it to us. I read some newspaper articles years ago about how he's interested in cottages or something like that. Who would've thunked it!?! Millionaire George Michael liking chocolate-box period property... I never had him down as the sort!
 
Hedging is only part of it - the other part is, well, because they can. BA are claiming for example that the YQ element of the fare (The code given to the fuel surcharge) isn't even a fuel surcharge, its a 'carrier surcharge' and not related to the price of oil.

Make of that what you will...
 
South Africa has always seemed like poor value flights wise, its frequently the same price as flying to Australia which is twice as far.
 
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[TW]Fox;27445277 said:
South Africa has always seemed like poor value flights wise, its frequently the same price as flying to Australia which is twice as far.
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Economies of scale, presumably. Dunno.
 
Derp said:
Economies of scale, presumably. Dunno.
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Dunno what it is really, especially as flights to Australia are not one flight but infact two - one of which is usually the same length as a flight to South Africa.

Must just be lack of demand/competition or something?
 
[TW]Fox;27445325 said:
Dunno what it is really, especially as flights to Australia are not one flight but infact two - one of which is usually the same length as a flight to South Africa.

Must just be lack of demand/competition or something?
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The price of kerosene is considerably more in South Africa due to it being a million miles from anywhere.

That's what I was told at least.
 
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