Yikes: British Airways is hiking fees on award tickets next week
It's never good news when an airline sends out a major announcement at the end of the day on a Friday, but that's exactly what British Airways has just done, emailing customers that it will be raising fees on award tickets as of next Wednesday, May 27.
The airline is already notorious for levying some of the highest surcharges on award tickets, where flights to and from its London Heathrow Airport (LHR) hub can incur hundreds, or even thousands of dollars in fees. And that's on top of the Avios flyers redeem for tickets.
It's about to get worse, though.
British Airways emailed members of its Executive Club the following message.
Though the email did not contain details of the price changes, it did direct readers to this page on the airline's website. There, the exact amounts of the new surcharges were laid out as follows (amounts noted in U.S. dollars were added by TPG):
- A round trip in Club World from London Heathrow to New York JFK will require 176,000 Avios + 499 British pounds ($671).
- A round trip in World Traveller from London Heathrow to Cape Town will require 66,000 Avios + 190 British pounds ($255).
- A one-way trip in Club Europe from London Heathrow to Rome will require 22,000 Avios + 20 British pounds ($27).
- A one-way trip in Euro Traveller from London Heathrow to Amsterdam will require 10,000 Avios + 2.50 British pounds ($3.40).
The airline noted that those Avios prices reflected off-peak dates.
So just how bad is this? Of course, a $3.40 surcharge on a short flight from London to Amsterdam doesn't sound like much. But it does represent a rise from just a single pound each way.
That round-trip flight from London to New York incurring nearly $700 in charges is pretty bad. It constitutes a $134 increase, or 25%, from the base level of taxes and fees we currently see.
That said, taxes and surcharges on these flights can already ring up much higher. Take, for instance, this round-trip off-peak business-class award from London to New York. It costs 176,000 Avios and a whopping $759.90 including taxes and fees.
So in reality, passengers are already paying much higher taxes and fees on British Airways award tickets in some cases.
Also keep in mind that this comes after British Airways already raised the cost in Avios and surcharges of reward flights in December.
Higher fees may be here to stay
Unfortunately, British Airways is far from alone in hiking fees on award tickets, a trend that has only accelerated with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Among the other carriers that have been pinching passengers, Air France/KLM raised its fuel surcharges to 50 euros (about $57) for round-trip flights, including both paid and award tickets.
Another SkyTeam carrier, Scandinavian Airlines, has also said it has increased fuel-related surcharges, and in March, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific raised add-on fees to $200 from $149.
Both Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, are also now charging extra on flights between the continental U.S. and Japan; just shy of $170.
In short, passengers are going to be squeezed more and more as fuel prices continue to rise.
Bottom line
British Airways is raising its already high surcharges on award tickets. That's bad news, but considering how much the airline already levies on these tickets, some passengers might not notice it much. If you have an upcoming award ticket you need to book, though, do so before these changes go into effect on May 27.
In the meantime, you might want to check paid fares against the cost of award tickets using Avios since those taxes and fees might mean paying cash is the better option for you. After all, if a round-trip coach ticket is $600 but the fees on an award ticket are $400, you might be better off saving your Avios for other redemptions and just eating the extra $200 in taxes and fees.