At the moment, airlines are in a really tough spot, given the impact that higher oil prices are having on their operating costs. The issue is that the cost of airfare isn’t based on the cost of providing transportation, but instead, it’s determined based on what consumers are willing to pay, which is why many…
Continue reading: Hah: Spanish Airline Volotea Charges For Fuel After You Book Your Ticket
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I’m ok with that: pay €9 per seat to ensure the flight actually takes off. In a couple of weeks we could see airlines cancelling flights due to lack of fuel.
Impressive that their IT department implemented the backend software module pretty quickly
This seems more fair than airlines that increase bag check fees to compensate for higher fuel costs. At least they note that refunds will be issued if fuel costs go back down. I've yet to see that any airline that has raised bag fees has committed to the same.
It is a horrible idea for the consumer. Tickets are priced based on the economics at the time of purchase and should not be re-evaluated at the time of the flight
€9? …. the cost of a decent cup of coffee. Hardly going to bankrupt anyone now is it?
Presumably most people need to be somewhere and will just pay whatever the fuel fee will be.
Except it’s illegal under EU legislation. You can’t increase a price after an item has been purchased and ask the customer to pay.
I was looking for flights to Corsica the other day and noticed this when looking at their website. It just made me look elsewhere so they lost my business. Their fares are usually low enough in a market that they can just increase their fares and still be the cheapest carrier. It’s also illegal under EU rules. Good basis for doing a chargeback once the flight is complete.
As has already been said here, this is likely illegal. In my home state of Massachusetts, for instance, junk fees, regulations require any provider to disclose the full amount upfront, including any mandatory fees * before* check out. While not familiar with specifics of Spanish or EU legislation, I can tell you that this would probably be questionable if not illegal under Massachusetts law
Except the full price with the €9 has been disclosed along with its calculation.
One would argue your restaurant sells you their lobster at "market price" and they given you a range of +-€9.
Like I said in another post, brainwashed morons still believes the propaganda that EU has better consumer protections.
It was a fairly common practice, also by traditional mainline carriers, back in the 1970s and 80s. But I believe it became illegal in most jurisdictions at some point in time.
The ability to impose fuel surcharges is quite common for major cruise lines in their contracts, infact the recent spike in prices caused many to ask on discussion boards if fuel surcharges will be making a comeback. Since although the lines can add charges, it's rare and understandably unpopular to invoke them.
There sure are a lot of bootlickers on here who seem happy to pay extra after they’ve already paid for their tickets… have fun with that! €9 today. €99 tomorrow. €999 in a year.
At least they are pretending to be honest by saying they would refund you if oil prices are low. What they don't say is what they consider a normal oil price. Then you can gage if it is higher or lower so you can know if you are getting a refund or need to pay. Alternatively they will just adjust the fare. Agree it seems complex and what happens if you don't pay it, if they cancel your ticket they could have many empty planes creating other problems.
Ooooo! “Bootlickers” …. and I thought that it was only ‘bootie’s’ which received such attention herein …. 🙂
Hmmm... they are being transparent and giving FULL FLEXIBILITY in all flights to compensate for the uncertainty. Also, from what I read the effect goes two-ways, so if fuel goes down -> pax reimbursed (althought the base level seems unreachable) I assume it could scare some buyers, but the level of transparency is very high. I wonder how come they have implemented this so quickly...
I have a Voltea reservation for June. The confirmation email makes no mention of the fuel policy. I did click through to Transport Conditions (live link) and see it there. Definitely wasn't highlighted in the booking process. Given the original sale price was 23 Euros, if they charge the full 9 that's a rather incredible surprise charge.