UFTAA and its member travel agencies welcome the global investigation by US Justice Department and UK Office of Fair Trading on the alleged cartel activity which involves pricing of passenger air transportation including fuel surcharges.

The present investigation only includes the trans-Atlantic traffic between USA and UK, but it should be widened in order to give a correct picture.

While according to ICAO tariff definitions (operational costs) and IATA rules the fuel charges are to be regarded as part of the tariff and ticketed as a Q surcharge, many airlines are considering fuel surcharges as outside the applicable tariff.

Travel agents are well aware that fuel costs, due to hedging, are affecting airlines differently and question the similarity in level and timing of fuel surcharges. The various taxes and charges added to a basic air fare is making it increasingly difficult for the consumer to get a correct and transparent picture of the real cost for the transportation. UFTAA welcomes the EU initiative to demand the inclusion of all elements in the price to the public.

Should UFTAA’s assumption prove to be correct, corrective action should affect not only USA and UK transportation but the whole world. UFTAA with its 80 member associations would welcome such a move.