Asia-Pacific airlines should cut fuel surcharges: Aviation group
Asia-Pacific airlines should cut fuel surcharges: Aviation group
Agence France-Presse, Singapore
Airlines should consider cutting their fuel surcharges on
passenger tickets in the face of slowing travel demand and
concerns over bird flu, the Center for Asia-Pacific Aviation
(CAPA) said on Wednesday.
Executive chairman Peter Harbison said he will push the
message in the annual aviation outlook summit which will be held
in Kuala Lumpur next month.
He noted that some freight carriers have already started to
ease their surcharges to reflect lower jet fuel prices.
"But passenger airlines appear reluctant to move on passenger
fuel surcharges," he said in a statement.
"Yet the longer they hold off, the more they risk hurting
forward demand, which is looking decidedly fragile in some
markets.
"In some markets, fuel surcharges are actually making
passenger bookings less predictable, which is leading carriers
into the perverse situation where they are discounting underlying
fares to fill their aircraft."
He said another concern weighing on demand was the fear of
bird flu, which has hit several countries in the region, such as
China, Vietnam and Thailand.
One carrier, China Southern Airlines, has already warned that
the impact of bird flu worries on travel is expected to be seen
in November's traffic data.
"Reducing surcharges would provide a needed boost to travel
demand, especially if the global economy continues to slow,"
Harbison said.
The summit in Kuala Lumpur is also expected to be a platform
for governments to respond to an "open skies" agreement between
the European Union and the United States.
Such an agreement could mean rights for carriers to fly beyond
the territory of the other to destinations in Asia, said CAPA, a
specialist consultancy group focused on the aviation industry.
Harbison warned the region must be ready.
"Asia-Pacific airlines could be vulnerable to competition with
carriers many times their size," he said.
"The options for Asia could include consolidation, reversion
to government ownership and/or mergers at the domestic level --
all options will be on the table."