Airline passengers face an increase in ticket prices as Emirates Airline and other major carriers prepare this week to levy fuel surcharges to counter oil prices that have been forced up by regional unrest.
Emirates, Qantas and Cathay Pacific said they were adding charges to battle the steadily rising cost of jet fuel.
The political turmoil in the region sent the price of crude up to US$105 a barrel last week. The price of jet fuel, meanwhile, has soared 28 per cent to a near three-year high close to $134 a barrel.
Airlines have warned further price rises could be on the way as they try to keep ahead of the price of jet fuel, which now represents as much as 40 per cent of total operating costs.
Emirates raised its ticket prices this month to cover rising fuel costs, and this week will raise prices for flights to and from Japan.
"In response to the sharp rise in the price of aircraft fuel worldwide, Emirates will increase the fuel surcharge for Japan to Dubai commencing April 1," the airline said.
The Hong Kong government recently said it had given approval to Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and ANA of Japan to raise surcharges for travel in and out of Hong Kong by 18 per cent next month.
Fuel prices pose a "significant threat" to airlines, said Alan Joyce, the chief executive of Qantas.
"The situation today is very different to the last fuel crisis when the global economy was strong," Mr Joyce said. "This time, the world is still emerging from the global financial crisis and demand is still recovering."
Qantas has increased surcharges or fares four times in two months, including an announcement that it would charge up to A$10 (Dh37) more on tickets for one-way domestic and regional flights starting this week, and raise fares to New Zealand by up to 8 per cent.
Every dollar increase for a barrel of oil translates to higher fuel costs for airlines of about US$1.6 billion (Dh5.87bn), threatening to "spoil the party" this year for the airline industry and wipe much of the forecast profits, the International Air Transportation Association said.
Most carriers have protected themselves from volatile energy prices by "hedging", where they buy fuel years in advance.
Etihad Airways recently said it was 75 per cent hedged for this year, meaning it had bought most of its fuel needs earlier in the year when prices were lower.
It is about 50 per cent hedged for next year and 25 per cent the year after, and recently said it had made no decision on fuel surcharges.
Other carriers serving the Middle East that have raised fares include British Airways, which has lifted prices twice in the past three months, including one rise last month of £12 (Dh70) a flight.
With the growing global economy, airlines have so far been able to increase fares without significantly denting demand.
In the US, airlines have raised prices six times in the first three months of the year, averaging an increase every two weeks. Southwest, the US budget carrier, has had "delightful success" in raising fares to offset higher fuel prices, it said recently.
"Our traffic has held up more than well. It's been very, very strong," said Gary Kelly, the chief executive of Southwest.
But Fitch Ratings said further rises in the price of oil could threaten this.
"The industry's ability to recover higher fuel costs will be seriously challenged later in the year if another surge in energy prices begins to slow economic growth and curtail air travel demand," the ratings agency said.
igale@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
More from our neighbourhood series:
Tori Amos
Native Invader
Decca
THE SPECS
Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 518bhp
Torque: 625Nm
Speed: 0-100kmh 5.3 seconds
Price: Dh633,435
On sale: now
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETwin-turbo%2C%20V8%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20automatic%20and%20manual%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E503%20bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E513Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh646%2C800%20(%24176%2C095)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
