Delta Air Lines and joint venture partners Air France-KLM and Alitalia raised by $6 roundtrip surcharges on North Atlantic routes, according to FareCompare.com CEO Rick Seaney, who attributed the hike to the new EU Emissions Trading Scheme. [more]
"We are also tracking quite a bit of intra-Europe changes and changes from other countries to Europe," according to Seaney. For example, he noted that Air Berlin "has been very active" in raising surcharges within Europe and "on some transatlantic routes."
However, no other major European or U.S.-based carrier as of midday Wednesday had broadly hiked fares or added new surcharges on North Atlantic routes. Still, such activity appears likely.
Lufthansa, for example, has publicly shared plans that it would use surcharges to pass along the expense of the ETS program, which the carrier estimated would add €130 million to its operating costs this year.
Through a transatlantic joint venture, Lufthansa jointly sets North Atlantic fares with Air Canada and United Airlines, though it was unclear whether Lufthansa would impose ETS surcharges unilaterally.
"We at United know the estimated cost impact of EU ETS and have incorporated it into our cost and revenue models," according to a United spokesman. "We do not discuss future pricing actions as they relate to ticket fares."