Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news
Local travel agencies are feeling the pinch of the recent official imposition
of fuel surcharges on international flights, today's Shanghai Morning Post
reported.
Depending on distance, costs may surge by 100 yuan (US$12.3) to
over 600 yuan, the report said, citing industry sources.
China's aviation
authority (the General Administration of Civil Aviation) announced on Monday
that permission had been granted to domestic airlines to double fuel
surcharges as airlines struggle due to high oil prices.
As a result, fuel
surcharges rose to US$25 per passenger from US$12 on flights between China and
Asian nations and the fee doubled to US$40 on flights between China and Europe,
North America, Australia and the Middle East, CAAC said.
This is the second
time this year that Chinese airlines have raised fuel surcharges on
international routes. The first, smaller increase was in May.
Travel agencies
may be obliged to shoulder the additional airfare costs, since it is already
off-peak season in the out-bound market and, therefore, not a good time to raise
prices and shift the rising cost onto travelers, according to Wang Fang,
out-bound center manager of Shanghai Jinjiang International Travel Co Ltd, a
leading travel agency in the city.
Costs on routes to Australia and Europe,
for example, will surge between 320 yuan and 640 yuan, she noted.
Despite
that, some analysts argue that prices for routes to destinations such as
Southeast Asia will be increased by some 200 yuan, because the business is
already low-margin.
To divert people's attention from prices, more agencies
will try to separate fuel surcharges, airport construction charges, visa fees
and other costs from their quoted prices so as to make their prices low and
competitive.
For instance, an eight-day tour to Singapore and Bali marketed
by some local agencies is priced at an attractive 2,980 yuan. With fuel
surcharges and other additional fees included, the full expense should be around
4,300 yuan.