British Airways in court in the US over fuel surcharges on Avios tickets
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An interesting court case is currently working its way through the US legal system. Four frequent flyers in the States are suing British Airways over the fairness (or not) of the fuel surcharges imposed on Avios reward tickets and corporate net fares.
The latest attempt by British Airways to have the case thrown out has just failed, and it will proceed to the next stage.
See this Reuters story here for more details.
To quote:
In a decision made public on Friday, U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie in Brooklyn, New York, said the plaintiffs offered sufficient support for their claims that the surcharges were not “reasonably related to or based upon” fuel costs. He did not rule on the merits of the case …..
The plaintiffs said British Airways saw the fuel surcharges as a means to boost revenue, and charge frequent flyers hundreds of dollars on each “free” reward ticket.
In letting the case proceed, Dearie cited a statistical analysis from the flyers that suggested that British Airways’ fuel surcharges from 2007 to 2012 “bore little relationship to – and were not based upon – changes in the price of fuel.”
There are a couple of points worth mentioning here. The first is that, for reasons unknown, British Airways charges higher fuel surcharges – substantially higher, in fact – for round-trip tickets which start in the US compared with the UK.
Heathrow to New York return in Club World has total taxes of £533. New York to Heathrow return has total taxes of £732. That won’t look good in court.
Secondly, I will leave you with this bit of data courtesy of my friend Andy.
Cost of fuelling a BA A380 to Los Angeles, return: $170,000 (figure comes directly from a BA pilot)
First Class fuel charge revenue: 14 x £359 = £5,026
Club World fuel charge revenue: 97 x £359 = £34,823
World Traveller Plus fuel charge revenue: 55 x £239 = £13,145
World Traveller fuel charge revenue: 303 x £239 = £72,417
Total fuel surcharge collected on a full A380 flight to Los Angeles: £125,411 = c $200,000
‘Profit’ generated by fuel surcharge vs the cost of fuel: c $30,000
The full court filings in the case can be downloaded from Loyalty Lobby here.
It is not clear where this case will end up – the worst case scenario, for BA, is that it is made to refund fuel surcharges to anyone who has flown to or from the US in recent years on an Avios ticket or corporate net fare (to which fuel surcharges are additional).
This would not be unparalleled – similar refunds were made a few years (I got one myself) when BA settled another court case.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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