Emirates hikes its fares from today

Emirates airlines, the Middle East’s largest carrier, said on Wednesday that its fares would go up by as much as Dh170 for economy class and Dh610 for business class, effective today. “Due to the current volatility of oil prices, Emirates is introducing a fuel surcharge, for all tickets issued on or after the March 1, 2012, to reflect the substantial recent increases in our fuel costs,” a spokesperson of the Dubai-based carrier said in a statement. The airline said the surcharge would enable it to respond faster to market conditions, and promised that the extra charges would be reviewed on an ongoing basis. “The changes will also give us the ability to decrease prices quickly, where appropriate,” the spokes-person added. The fare hikes vary depending to the routes and ticket classes and apply to each oneway ticket, the spokesperson said. For economy class the new additional charge is Dh60 on routes from the UAE to the GCC, Middle East and South Asian Subcontinent. The surcharge for first and business class tickets on these routes is Dh390. On routes from the UAE to Afri-ca, Europe, the Far East and Australasia the surcharge is Dh120 in economy class while first and business class customers will see an increase of Dh500. On routes to the Americas, the airline will charge an extra Dh170 for economy class and Dh610 for first and business classes. “Emirates has already incurred substantial costs by absorbing the recent price rises, but the surcharge gives us the ability to respond faster to market conditions, rather than a lengthier process of incorporating them into fares,” the spokesman said. “We will review the level of the surcharge on an on-going basis, while remaining committed to providing our customers with excellent service and a strong value-for-money proposition,” the airline said. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has also announced a fare hike effective today to combat the European Union’s new carbon emissions trading scheme. The airline adds an extra $3 per passenger for flights into and out of Europe, while an extra $0.03 cents/kg is to be levied on cargo shipments. Emirates has not made any move so far to introduce carbon fee. Georges Hannouche, a leading aviation industry expert, said the ‘unilateral’ initiative of the ?new carbon tax — Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) imposed on the flights into and out of Europe was nothing short of ‘penalising’ the Gulf carriers despite having a young and fuel-efficient fleet. According to Etihad Airways, the carbon tax scheme could ?escalate its operating cost by up ?to $719 million by 2020 ?while Emirates estimates that in 2012 alone, it will cost the airline over €40 million to purchase ?additional emissions allowances to comply with the scheme, ?and well over half-a-billion ?euros in the nine year period to 2020.