Have I just been screwed?

Originally posted by RJD
Alternatively if fuel prices shoot up you won't have to pay the additional surcharge that other pax might be paying - the luck of the financial environment draw I'm afraid.

Companies undertake currency, commodity and interest rate hedging for everything from fuel to rent to loan payments up to a certain percentage of the known/expected obligation - this ensures that, whilst they might not be able to take advantage of the positive movements, they are protected from negative index movements.

Yeah but realistically, are fuel/oil prices likely to shoot up so far as to go beyond the surcharge level?
Personally, I would be prepared to risk it and pay the standard ticket price and be charged prior to departure if the cost of fuel has risen in the meantime. That way, at least I would be confident that my fuel surcharge, if unused, wouldn't find it's way into the coffers of some greedy airline.
I'm afraid business folk can argue all day long about Airlines having to make money and safeguard profits but we all know that there's only one winner here [:(!]

Regards,

NOC

Surely the fact that many airlines are in serious financial trouble justifies fuel surcharges - I don't see any airlines raking it in and being the winner here. Many of them are trying their best to survive.

As for the original post I imagine it is possible that the problem is that the agent only sees one number for the revised additional fees section and not a breakdown of the calculation between the original additional fees and the new number. Whilst I agree it is a little disappointing that the agent wasn't able to give you the breakdown or a satisfactory answer (or offer to get someone to contact you with the details) this seems like a pretty minor gripe to me. It is not as if they randomly just charged your card - they told you there was extra to pay and you agreed.

Even though the price of oil has dropped in the last couple of weeks I'd wager a fair amount that the current spot and forward price is still well in excess of the expected oil price when the basic fares for 2008 were set - hence hefty fuel surcharge needed.