Domestic Air Ticket price Nepal-Domestic carriers hike fuel surcharge

Air travel will became costlier from Thursday. Domestic carriers have raised fuel surcharge on air tickets by up to Rs 385 following an 8 percent hike in aviation fuel prices.

On August 10, the state-owned oil supplier Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) hiked aviation fuel prices sold to domestic carriers by Rs 10 per litre to Rs 130 per litre. A meeting of the Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday announced the hike in fuel surcharge.

Domestic airlines are permitted to increase fuel surcharge if fuel prices go up by Rs 4 and above. With the increase in fuel surcharge, ticket prices on the Simara sector has been increased by Rs 110, while the Dhangadi sector will see the highest hike of Rs 385. For mountain flights, passengers will have to pay an additional Rs 375. “We were forced to ramp up fuel surcharge in response to the fuel price hike,” said Rupesh Joshi, ýsenior marketing manager at Buddha Air.

Airline officials said as fuel contributes 30-35 percent to their overall operating costs, they had no options but to pass the burden of fuel price hike on to travellers. Domestic carriers had last hiked fuel surcharge on September 5, 2012 when NOC raised the aviation fuel price by a steep 10.09 percent to an all-time high of Rs 120 per litre. Fuel surcharge was then revised at the range of Rs 145 to Rs 425.

Bhim Raj Rai, airport service manager of Yeti Airlines, said the sudden hike in fuel surcharge will impact travel agencies that have booked travel for the upcoming tourist season. “It, however, will not create a significant burden to individual travellers,” he said.

In the last two years, airfares have gone up by Rs 2,000 on long-haul routes and Rs 500-700 on short-haul sectors.

source: the kathmandu post,15 August 2013