SYDNEY - Australian flag carrier Qantas said Friday it will more than double its fuel surcharge on international flights and hike the fee for domestic travel by 60 percent in response to climbing oil prices.
Qantas Airways Ltd. said it would also have to find "further efficiencies" to counter the soaring cost of oil and jet fuel.
The move came a day after domestic rival Virgin Blue increased its fuel surcharge by 90 percent to 19 dollars (14.57 US dollars).
The company said the per-ticket surcharge for international flights would go up to 60 dollars from 29 dollars and rise to 40 dollars from 29 dollars for travel to and from New Zealand, as of April 20.
The fee would rise to 20 dollars from 12 dollars for domestic flights.
Jetstar, Qantas' domestic budget offshoot, would increase its surcharge to 19 dollars from 10 dollars.
Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon justified the price add-ons as needed to counter soaring fuel prices.
"The price of both oil and jet fuel are at historic highs and remain extremely volatile," Dixon said.
"Based on current prices, the Qantas Group will spend approximately one billion dollars more on fuel in 2005/06 compared to the current financial year," he said.
"The increased surcharge, together with the existing surcharges and our hedging activities will, taking into account the effects on demand, fall short by approximately 400 million dollars," he said.
"Consequently, in an environment of historically low airfares, we are looking very closely at all aspects of our business to find ways in which we can achieve further efficiencies," he said.
04/08/2005 06:15 GMT