Cathay Pacific, HK Express roughly double fuel surcharge on most routes

Hong Kong aviation giant Cathay Pacific and its low-cost carrier HK Express announced new fuel surcharges for most routes Thursday that are roughly double the existing ones. 

The city’s flag carrier said on Thursday the increase would apply to tickets issued on March 18 or later, a Cathay statement said.

“The price of jet fuel has approximately doubled since March amid the latest developments in the Middle East,” Cathay told SCMP, citing the surge as the reason for the charge hike.

The company revealed a detailed list of affected routes in a statement titled "Fuel surcharge updates", a day after warning that fuel prices had soared in March with the outbreak of war in the Middle East.

Cathay Group's CEO Ronald Lam told a Wednesday media session the cost of fuel so far this month is double the average of the previous two months.

For example, for flights between Hong Kong and Europe that were purchased in Hong Kong, the surcharge will rise from HK$569 (around US$73) to HK$1164.

On Thursday, Cathay also announced additional flights to London to meet increased market demand for travel to Europe.

The day before, the carrier had said it had observed a "general increase" in flight demand from other regions, particularly for long-haul flights, with travellers looking for alternatives to routes that rely heavily on Middle Eastern hubs.

This week, Cathay axed all flights to Dubai and Riyadh in March, extending earlier suspensions.

Analysts say that while carriers all hedge a portion of their fuel costs, their margins could still be affected.

Hong Kong Airlines also raised the fuel surcharge for most of its flights from Thursday.