Fuel prices 'way above' what airlines can manage: Emirates exec

Airline passengers are facing higher ticket prices after jet fuel costs surged to a level an industry executive says is "way above" what carriers can manage. Adnan Kazim, CCO of Emirates, said airlines had to respond after fuel prices doubled in a year. The increases pose a new change to an aviation industry stricken by the pandemic, threatening to overshadow a recovery in travel demand. "The current cost of jet fuel is way above what any airline can manage," Kazim told Nikkei Asia in an interview. The average price for 2022 stands at $135.70 per barrel, according to IATA's jet fuel price monitor. Last week, the price was $146.53, up 105% from a year ago. "In our industry, a cost of $50 to $70 is what an airline can cope with," Kazim said. Emirates is working to limit ticket price increases by cutting costs, but is implementing a "fuel-fare charge, which is only taking a bit of cost and pushing it into the ticket." The Points Guy, which tracks airline rewards programs, highlighted two increases in fuel surcharges by Emirates within weeks of each other this year. These added first $250 and then another $180 to business class flights from Washington to Dubai that are purchased with rewards points. A table of fuel surcharges on Emirates' website shows flights to and from Japan will incur surcharges of at least 33,800 yen ($266) from June 1. Some airlines cut fuel surcharges to zero during the pandemic but they have crept back -- and up -- this year. In Malaysia, AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines reintroduced surcharges in March. South Korean carriers have hiked surcharges to record levels, local media report. The industry regulator in the Philippines is allowing carriers to impose record surcharges from next month. Fuel prices have risen with increased demand as the pandemic eases, and spiked further in March after Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupted oil supplies.<br/>