Airlines alter surcharge calculations
13 / 08 / 2013
FORWARDERS and their customers stand to pay significantly more in fuel and security surcharges as airlines change the way they calculate the levy, Air Cargo News exclusively reveals.
Instead of computing on the basis of actual weight, carriers are now basing the surcharge on chargeable weight – which ‘penalises’ volumetric shipments so that one kilo of ping-pong balls attracts higher fuel surcharges than a kilo of mobile ‘phones, for example.
The practice, already prevalent in a few markets in Asia, such as Japan, will mean a revenue windfall for most carriers.
Lufthansa Cargo intends to charge for fuel worldwide on the basis of chargeable weight, a source close to the carrier reports. A spokesman for the German carrier has declined to comment, citing competition reasons that prohibit the disclosure of such information to parties other than customers.
However, an executive from a large European forwarder has confirmed privately that he has received communication from the German airline as well as from Emirates announcing such plans.
Read the full story on page three in the next edition of Air Cargo News 12 August 2013 – Issue No. 758
Read the full story on page three in the next edition of Air Cargo News 12 August 2013 – Issue No. 758
