IndiGo, India’s largest airline, has announced that starting 6th October 2023, it has started charging a fuel surcharge based on the distance covered by the flight.
Direct result of ATF prices shorting up
With aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices seeing a surge over the past few months, IndiGo has decided to introduce a distance-based fuel surcharge on domestic and international flights. The airline says that the prices will vary between ₹300 ($3.61) and ₹1000 ($12.02) (based on the conversion prices as of 18:00 hours 6th October 2023).
The decision follows the significant increase in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, which have surged in the last three months with consecutive price hikes every month. ATF accounts for a substantial portion of an airline’s operating expenses, necessitating fare adjustment to address such a cost surge. Under this pricing structure, passengers booking IndiGo flights will incur a fuel charge, per sector, based on the sector distance.
the airline said in a statement.
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The pricing structure of the fuel surcharge is as follows:
- Distance between 0 and 500 kilometres – ₹300
- Distance between 501 and 1000 kilometers- ₹400
- Distance between 1001 and 1500 kilometres – ₹550
- Distance between 1501 and 2500 kilometres – ₹650
- Distance between 2501 and 3500 kilometres – ₹800
- 3501 kilometers and above – 1000₹
India remains one of the largest markets where fuel costs contribute 40% of the total operating cost. This is not the first time IndiGo has imposed a fuel charge due to high Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices. In May 2018, the airline had imposed a fuel surcharge as a sharp uptick in oil and ATF prices and depreciation in the value of the rupee were adding to its cost burden.
IndiGo remains committed to offer affordable fares to its valued customers. IndiGo will also publish the tariff sheet subsequently, with the sector-wise charges that can be viewed on http://www.goindigo.in.
IndiGo added.
Jet fuel prices have risen by over 32% since June 2023. The current price level is the highest since November 2022, as per data from the country’s largest Oil Marketing Company (OMC) Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Featured image by IndiGo
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