Fuel surcharge demand - help please!

DaveCarpetbag

I have booked and paid for 11 return flights Gatwick-Sanford, with Charter Travel ATOL 4151. The principal is Libra Holidays, the airline Air Atlanta.

Charter Travel have written demanding £35 fuel surcharge per person plus £2 admin fee per person - "the airline will not issue tickets until the fuel surcharges have been paid in full".

I note that BA and Virgin have increased return long haul surcharges from £32 to £48 - BUT NOT FOR TICKETS ALREADY PAID FOR. The original quote from Charter Travel was inclusive of all fees, surcharges, and taxes.

I will telephone ATOL on Monday to discuss this sharp practice before contacting Charter Travel.

Does anyone have any advice please?

trace-j

Also double check with your local trading standards department. Under the Package Travel Regulations (that would apply when you buy a package flight, accommodation etc) it permits a variation in price to allow for any extra costs, such as increases in fuel prices, even if tickets have been paid for. Main reason being tickets are paid for so far in advance, not possible for the airline to accurately predict the cost of the fuel as it changes.

kingofherts

Airline tickets are typically fixed in price when they are issued not when they are booked. Did the travel company give you the option of paying in full straightaway to avoid paying the fuel surcharge when they were notified about it by the airline, i know most consolidators will give clients this option as when they have full payment the ticket(s) can be issued beofre the surcharge is applied. The surcharge is applied by the airline, Air Atlanta (they are an American Charter airline) so Libra and the travel co are powerless to do anything about it unless they want to pay it for you.

King