Qantas may increase fuel surcharges again: CEO

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce warned consumers that the falling price of oil might not mean passengers are insulated from further rises in fuel surcharges (The Australian/Dow Jones Newswires, 17-Mar-2011). Mr Joyce said that lower fuel prices are good news for the industry but said the fuel-surcharge introduction and subsequent increases in recent months did not recover the costs incurred. Mr Joyce added the airline is in discussions with the federal government on mechanisms for the carbon tax, confirming that the added cost to the airline would be passed onto consumers.

Qantas: "So we're a long way, a long way, from the fuel price, meaning that we are recovering that cost. And we're still looking at further fuel-surcharge increases because … if the fuel price doesn't reduce quite dramatically from where it is, we're still in that territory." Alan Joyce, CEO. Source: The Australian, 17-May-2011.