EVA, CAL to absorb higher fuel charges

The nation's two largest carriers said yesterday that they had no plans to raise air fares in response to rising oil prices, as some foreign airlines have done.

"We have hedged 80 percent of our costs for jet fuel this year, so we can maintain our current rates in both passenger and cargo sectors," said Roger Han (韓梁中), spokesman for the nation's largest carrier, China Airlines (華航).

Oil prices reached fresh 13-year highs of above US$40 a barrel yesterday in London trading on concern that OPEC may not pump enough oil to meet rapidly accelerating world oil demand, Reuters reported.

Against this backdrop, some foreign air carriers including American Airlines and Qantas Airways have announced surcharges to offset the rising costs of jet fuel, which accounts for about one-third of airlines' total costs.

China Airlines raised fuel surcharges on cargo flights from this country last month by as much as a third, but Han explained that the surcharge varies all the time in accordance with the fuel costs.

Eric Lin (林司忠), a public-relations official at EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), said that the company will charge more during the coming peak season, but the change is based on market demand as usual, not on fuel costs. EVA Airways hedged 40 percent of jet fuel in the first quarter of the year, Lin said.

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