Virgin Atlantic turned the tide slightly in class wars by announcing that economy-class passengers pay lower fuel surcharges than more pampered premium-class travelers. The differentiation is a departure from the standard industry protocol of applying the same surcharge to all passenger tickets for a given flight.
"Our Upper Class and Premium Economy passengers benefit from considerably more space on our aircraft and larger baggage allowances than our Economy passengers, so our aircraft burn more fuel to carry them," said CEO Steve Ridgway. "We believe that Economy passengers should pay lower fuel charges than passengers in our two premium cabins as their carbon footprint is around half of those seated towards the front of the plane."
The new fuel surcharge scheme takes effect tomorrow for all bookings sold in the United Kingdom.
While business customers, who see themselves as the carrier's best customers, may fuss over the new policy, those sitting behind the curtain for once can smirk at those sitting in front of it. It won't make their seat recline any further, provide more space between passengers or make the inflight dining taste any better, but at least its something.