ANA to reduce fuel surcharge from October

What is with this fuel charge!!! The airline industry should get rid of the fuel charge. They already charge so much for the tickets.

Pocket money / Fuel Charge what's the difference? I will never fly ANA or JAL.

@whiskeysour

"I will never fly ANA or JAL."

Any particular reason?

@ alladin: Base Air fares have risen VERY little over the last 10 years. How do you expect an airline to stay in business without charging a fuel surcharge - have you followed the price of oil at all over the past 4 years? Which particular routes do you fly that you feel you are beinf overcharged for and what is a fair comparison? @whiskeysour: Do you have a particular reason for NEVER flying JAL or ANA? Which are your preferred airlines?

When will lawmakers here (other countries as well) force airlines to give just one price for the cost of flying on their airline. Most people have caught on to the tax/airport tax/fuel surcharge separation gimmick that increases the advertised price significantly. I always demand a "final" price from travel agencies or airlines when comparing tickets. Does anyone still fall for this ruse; feel that their ticket is less?

I always demand a "final" price from travel agencies or airlines when comparing tickets. Does anyone still fall for this ruse; feel that their ticket is less?

I always ask them how much it will cost for a plane without fuel. They don't quite get the sarcasm.

Why are planes the only mode of transport that have a fuel charge added? I still by the same fares for buses, taxis etc..

I fully agree with TokyoApple - the time has come for airlines to be forced to advertise their fares all inclusive of fuel surcharge and taxes. Taxes added to flights from some cities are quite ludicrous. Return to London Business class will incur almost 60,000 yen in tax - 80% of that UK tax.

and actually in a UK newspaper today:

Tan Khawaja, a fares expert at the Advantage group of business travel agents, says that fares (if you exclude taxes and charges) are pretty much the same today as they were 20 years ago. Yet, the effect of inflation means that fares are almost half as expensive in real terms now compared to then

@whiskeysour: It doesn't matter if you avoid JAL/ANA....pretty much all the airlines have a fuel surcharge so you are going to be paying it anyway.

People think they are entitled to cheap tickets and a high quality service. (@whiskeysour, @ alladin). No wonder that Jet Blue guy went nuts.

This is an article about ANA trying to reduce the cost of tickets via reducing the fuel surcharge that all airlines have to charge to cover their costs. That sounds like good news if they can do it.

I hear the government is going to drastically reduce the fuel tax airlines have to pay, if they do, the airlines should be able to cut the fuel surcharges even more.

Good news. I was wondering when they were going to do it, because fuel price has stabilized around 90$.

I agree with everybody else that is asking for an "all inclusive" price. 10 years ago shops were forced to publish the final price, including tax, in order to give customers all the information about how much they are going to pay. The government could do the same with plane tickets. I really don't care if they use the money to buy fuel. Just tell me the final price.

What good does it do to require airlines to apply to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to lower fares? Helps employ bureaucrats?

@Airion. Every airline needs goverbment approval in every country for fare structure/approval. This is not just in Japan. It is to avoid price fixing/collusion. I'm not saying that thsi doesn't happen of course...

rainman1: I believe that European airlines are free to set whatever fares they like within Europe, without asking for government permission. Japan remains backwards in this respect.

There will be fewer routes left but only international. Domestically Japan has trains so it at least will have transit into the future unlike other countries.

When the oil is far down in supply enough, the airlines will demand gov't takeover when the price of oil rises too far for them to have any profitability. This will be after a round of buyouts and mergers.

However there is some time. This all won't be forced until another step down or two of the energy scale as oil dwindles. Airlines need sub-$80 prices to function. We're all good for a few more years but enjoy it while you can. Eventually the above and with rising prices will be how the freeze dried peanuts will crumble, or some shape thereof.

@Scrote: I stand corrected on that point thank you. As an example though - any airline flying between the Europe and the USA would need approval from both governments.

What gets me is that they can demand you pay more even after you have made the final payment of your ticket. ANA did this with me a few years ago. I refused to pay the travel agent and they said they would cancel the ticket and I would not be allowed on the plane unless I paid the new tax charge. You would certainly never have that issue in any other type of service.

Who has the time or money to take a ship from Japan to America? Japan to Australia? New York to London? No one, so you see, the airlines have us by the gazoos, and they know it, so they charge what ever they want, and just stomp up and down on our poor gazoos!