Northwest To Add $80 Fuel Fee on 7,000 Flights
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Northwest Airlines Corp., the carrier being acquired by Delta Air Lines Inc., plans to add an $80 round-trip fuel surcharge starting January 10 on about 7,000 flights to blunt record energy costs.
The new prices will affect about 30% of total American flights, which didn’t previously have a fuel surcharge in place, Northwest spokeswoman Michelle Aguayo-Shannon said yesterday. It’s the first boost in fares or surcharges in a month, a spokesman from the travel Web site FareCompare.com, Rick Seaney, said in an e-mailed statement.
Airlines draw a distinction between fare increases and surcharges, which are shown as a separate fee on tickets and usually are withdrawn as costs ease. American carriers plan to cut 26,000 jobs and park more than 460 jets to stem losses from a 62% jump in jet-fuel prices in the past year.