Freedom Air Raises Fuel Surcharge

Freedom Air Raises Fuel Surcharge

Freedom Air has announced that it will increase the fuel surcharge on its airfares sold from Friday 29th October 2004, due to substantial increases in aviation fuel prices.

The increase will see fuel surcharges rise from NZD$20 to NZD$25 per one-way flight on all New Zealand services to Australian and Fiji.

Since July last year the prices of Singapore Jet Fuel has risen from US$30 a barrel to around US$60 a barrel, making this cost unsustainable for the value-based airline.

Freedom Air sales and marketing manager Rachel Gardiner says that to be able to offer the lowest fares the airline works to keeps costs to a minimum and only increase the price of flights or surcharges when absolutely necessary.

“Freedom’s business model means we have a low overall cost base which enables us to sustain our really, really small fares, giving us a competitive advantage in the market.

“This means cheap fares for customers but it also means we don’t have a lot of ‘fat’ in those fares. Aviation fuel is at an all time high and to sustain our business we need to pass this added cost on.”

Ms Gardiner says in the event that fuel prices return to previous levels on a sustainable basis, Freedom Air will remove the fuel surcharges proportionally.

“At all times we aim to offer the cheapest fares for trans-Tasman and Pacific travellers and if we are in the position to cut costs again, we will.”

Freedom Air currently flies from Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. In Australia, Freedom Air flies from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The airline’s new Fiji services fly direct from Hamilton, Palmerston North, Christchurch, and will fly from Wellington from early next year.

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