Jeddah - Saudi Arabian Airlines will not increase ticket prices despite rising jet fuel costs all over the world, Dr. Khaled Ben-Bakr, the airline's director general, said yesterday.
"Saudia has decided to bear the excess fuel cost and maintain its ticket prices as they are without change," Ben-Bakr told Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News.
The assurance comes at a time when most foreign airlines have decided to impose a special fuel surcharge of SR42 ($11) on roundtrip tickets to international destinations.
Informed sources said airline companies were also planning to impose SR280 ($74.6) on passengers traveling to certain destinations including Manila, Bangkok and most European cities.
Speaking to Arab News, a travel executive in Jeddah said some airlines had already begun imposing SR76 as insurance and fuel surcharges on roundtrip tickets to international destinations. However, he said his agency had not received any information on new surcharges.
Dr. Nasser Al-Tayyar, director general of Al-Tayyar Group, confirmed that within a few weeks airlines were planning to impose a surcharge of SR280 on return tickets. Al-Tayyar said he did not expect the new tax would have a negative impact on the market as it comes in the off-season after the end of summer holidays.
Abdullah Bukhamsin, executive director for the travel sector at Kanoo Travel Company, said he expected Arab and international airlines operating in the Middle East to announce a three to five percent increase in fares soon.
Muhammad Qaiser, sales and marketing manager of Indian Airlines in the Kingdom, said his airline and some others had begun imposing fuel surcharges of SR42 on roundtrip tickets three months ago. He expected an additional surcharge of SR40 shortly.
Many foreign airlines have already announced fare hikes to compensate for rising fuel prices. IATA said international airline companies would pay $83 billion for jet fuel this year.
By P.K. Abdul Ghafour
© Arab News 2005
