Airline passenger news and views

Major Tour Operators are imposing fuel surcharges that could add £160 to the price of a family sunshine break in response to soaring oil prices.

Thomas Cook and Thomson, the UK’s two biggest package holiday firms, have unveiled supplements ranging from £15 to £40 per person based on the length of flights.

Other holiday firms, including cruise operators, are expected to follow suit, while British Airways recently increased its fuel surcharges to between £75 and £125 per person.

The news came on the day the AA revealed that the average price of a litre of unleaded petrol has hit an all-time high of 130.03p, taking it to almost £6 a gallon. The motoring organisation is calling on the  Chancellor George Osborne to cut fuel duty in the Budget later this month.

This all comes amid the power struggle in Libya, which has cut crude production, and fears that unrest will spread to other Middle East oil producers. One of the world’s biggest carmakers warned that they could surge far higher yet, adding another 30p a litre to petrol. Not a good prospect to thousands of families already feeling the pinch.

The Thomas Cook surcharges come into effect immediately on all its brands – Airtours, Sunset, Manos, Club 18-30 and Neilson. Surcharges at Thomson and its sister company, First Choice, will apply from Friday.

They cover new bookings, both flight-only and package holidays, whether booked through a travel agency or directly. The move is expected to result in more people turning their backs on foreign holidays this year.

There will be a £25 surcharge on medium haul flights to destinations such as Greece, Turkey and Egypt.

A figure of £40 per head will be added to long haul flights of more than seven hours. Consequently, a family booking a holiday in Florida will pay an extra £160.

This may not be all bad news though, as it could have an impact in Britain’s holiday industry, with a renewed interest in visiting locations in this country.

Over the next few weeks I will be looking into destinations to visit this summer here in Britain, and looking at alternatives to that traditional holiday in the sun.