Editor: Irina
I saw a temptingly low price for a ticket to Turkey, Tunisia, Cyprus (or somewhere else beyond the seas, oceans), and already calculated the budget to a penny .. You proceed to the purchase, and then the numbers change and it sounds: “You will need an additional payment for the fuel surcharge ".
What's this? Why is it in a separate column on the tour operator's bill, how much does it cost, and most importantly - can this fee be waived? Understanding!
What is an airline fuel surcharge?
The fuel surcharge is a surcharge for fuel (fuel). The fee applies to both regular and charter flights and is therefore always included in the tour price. Some tour operators indicate the fee separately. On average, the supplement ranges from $ 20 to $ 100 per person.
The modest initial price tag of the package includes hotel accommodation, meals (if selected) + airline fare. The latter is the price of the flight with all the attached services except for the main one. Combustible. Calculate, it was counted, only without taking into account the possible rise in price: accordingly, you need to be insured.
Let's close the obvious question immediately. No. Nobody is going to fool anyone. There really is and will be such an item of expenses when booking a tour, and especially for Turkey. But it often goes over and above the indicated price ... not always right away.
A big plus is that online aggregators (i.e. services that search for all tour operators)
- Onlinetours
- Travelata
- Level.Travel
reveal their cards exactly at the moment of issuing available tours! We noticed long ago that Online Tours always has a fuel surcharge included in the tour price. Those. from a page with a general summary of vouchers to a window with a specific payment - the price is one. Well, or it changes downward due to an additional discount of 3% 🙂
Note: the fares of carriers are fixed amounts, and their size does not depend on the demand for tickets. They change either by the decision of the airline, or in the course of currency jumps: the ruble to the euro, for example.
What determines the amount of fuel surcharge?
As you can imagine, a number of factors affect the final figure for fuel collection. Namely:
- Carrier's pricing policy. According to travel agents, the airline can send information about the change in tariffs, or even about the increased surcharge during the high season.
- Fuel cost in the world market
- Flight range and final destination
- Flight cost
- Number of purchased tickets
Some tour operators do not include the fuel surcharge in the initial cost of the tour, and the prices seem attractive to tourists (for the time being). And, for example, the budget "Turkey" at the end of the booking turns out to be not at all cheap. Sly, to say nothing.
We flew to Side (Turkey) on a tour for 40,000 rubles for two. We publish such offers, as well as promotions for air tickets in our Telegram channel Howtrip Lowcost
How much is the fuel surcharge when buying a tour?
"Is it possible to refuse to pay the fuel surcharge?" - tourists often ask. No, there is no way to avoid it. If you just slam the door and refuse the voucher altogether.
As a rule, for a regular flight (Turkish Airlines, Aeroflot, S7) you will need to pay more than for a charter (Azur Air, Yamal, Yakutia, Nord Star, Red Wings, Atlas Global).
If not a word has been said about additional payments, do not rush to rejoice. This does not mean that they do not exist. It's just that all items of expenditure have already been added to the cost. Or an insidious travel agency - they love this - decided to lure in with a small price tag and only then open that tour with a fuel surcharge.
Fuel surcharge on the example of a tour to Turkey
Different travel companies - different surcharges. For example, the fuel tax to Turkey in 2021a from Anex (by the way, a reliable tour operator, here is our review) for two will be $ 80 from the regions and $ 80- $ 120 for Moscow.
But Tez Tour can cost $ 200 - all because it uses the services of regular airlines, in contrast to the charter-addicted Anex.
All these figures to the penny are available on the sites of the above online aggregators. Those, whose vouchers are sharply more expensive after booking, are thrown out of the distribution services. So if you do not want unpleasant surprises when paying and are not eager to guess whether the fee is included in the tour price or not, contact them.
Fuel surcharge for children (rules)
Are there any child exclusions for fuel surcharged tours? The good news: in a voucher for a baby under 2 years old, only a boarding pass (from $ 40 to $ 70) without a seat (and without topsboring, which is important!) And insurance are paid.
Tour operators include the fuel surcharge for older children (even if 2 years and 1 day) in full. Why? Everything is fair. According to the rules, the fuel surcharge is not calculated for a separate adult, child or infant, but for one passenger seat (which is required just from the age of 2)
Why is the fuel surcharge paid separately?
Why is the fuel surcharge a separate item? The fact is that the tour operator and the airline enter into an agreement several months in advance. Whereas the cost of fuel "jumps" every day. And it is almost impossible to predict how much the carrier will fill the tank on on the day of departure.
The travel agency enters into the "check" the actual price of fuel for the period of the reservation. And already closer to the day X can accurately determine the size of the remaining difference. Why do I need a fuel surcharge? Its main function is to reduce the costs of the airline (no one wants to work at a loss).
Fuel surcharge in Anex Tour and Pegasus
When buying a tour online, the fuel surcharge for Anex Tour is automatically included in the final cost of the tour. When booking directly with the agency, the amount of the surcharge will be reported by the manager.
How many? In 2021, calculate in advance between $ 40 and $ 60 per seat. Charter AZUR Air from Sheremetyevo airport will take as much as possible. But any departures for the regions will be $ 40 per seat (all amounts are round-trip).
The fuel surcharge in Pegasus starts at $ 20, but Turkish Airlines and Aeroflot will request all $ 50. Moreover, Moscow / regions - this does not particularly affect the pricing.
Fuel surcharge at Intourist and Sanmar
The Intourist fuel surcharge is already included in the offer price. This is evidenced by both the site and numerous reviews. In addition, when choosing a voucher in the column "tour composition", you can familiarize yourself with the presence / absence of a surcharge or find out its size for the total number of vacationers.
But Sanmar gives out a lower price (excluding fuel surcharge). Therefore, be prepared that the price list is not final. If there is $ 40 from the regions, then the Turkish will ask for all $ 80 (for Moscow).
Fuel surcharge when purchasing air tickets
In fact, the fuel surcharge is included in the price of a regular air ticket, i.e. which is purchased separately as part of the trip. But here the fuel tax is taken into account automatically.
For the sake of interest: how much is the fuel "surcharge", for example, at Aeroflot? For flights within Russia - 1865 rubles; for short international flights - 51 euros; for long-distance international - 106 euros.
But, again, the price of tickets purchased by yourself is always indicated taking into account all taxes. Look for them - tickets - at Skyscanner and Aviasales!
