The World Of Aviation

KUALA LUMPUR, -- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has removed the fuel surcharge for its Singapore and Brunei flights effective Jan 30.

In addition, by Feb 1, the fuel surcharge on flights from China would be reduced by up to US$100.Flights from Australia and New Zealand will see a reduction of up to US$210 while those from the Middle East will have a drop of up to US$150, MAS said in a statement today.

Africa and North American flights will also see a reduction of up to US$160 and US$185 respectively, it announced.

The national carrier has slashed fuel surcharges on international flights by as much as 73 percent after taking into account the decline in fuel prices, competitive pressures and the need to boost air travel during this period of economic slowdown.

Its commercial director Datuk Rashid Khan said MAS had always offered competitive fares benchmarked on a route by route basis.

"Our stand is that the total amount the customer pays must be competitive, whether it's the fares alone or fares in combination with the fuel surcharge. What's important is the total sum of the parts," he said.

Oil prices have fallen by almost three-quarters since hitting a record high of US$147 in July 2008, MAS highlighted.

Despite this, MAS' fuel cost was still higher compared to when the surcharge was first introduced in 2004, it said.

"Fuel remains our biggest cost and our bill for FY2008 will be higher than FY2007 as the fuel surcharge only covers about 30% of the fuel cost," said Rashid.

MAS reduced the fuel surcharge for domestic travel within Malaysia on Jan 14 It had earlier reduced the fuel surcharge for travel from Malaysia to Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Paris, Germany and from other points of sales for various destinations.