News / Tavish clashes with Loganair over airfares
LOGANAIR has rejected calls from Shetland MSP Tavish Scott for the airline to cut its airfares to reflect tumbling oil prices.
A Loganair spokesman said the LibDem politician was wrong to claim the company had “walloped passengers with fuel surcharges in past years”.
The airline said it was unable to reduce airfares at this time because fuel was bought one or two years in advance to reduce the risk of fuel price changes.
“At a time of falling prices this can unfortunately mean that the airline does not see the benefit of falling prices for an extended time.
“Contrary to Mr Scott’s statement, Loganair, unlike many airlines, has not ‘walloped passengers with fuel surcharges in past years’.
“In fact no fuel surcharges have been applied by Loganair since 2006,” the spokesman said.
Oil prices have collapsed over recent months from a high of 110 US Dollar per barrel in September last year to a new five year low of $52.27 on Tuesday.
Speaking in Lerwick on Tuesday morning, Scott had welcomed that petrol and heating oil prices had come down over recent weeks but added that he had yet to notice any reduction in the in cost of air travel.
“I have seen no difference in the cost of flying. Why has Loganair and other airlines not cut ticket prices reflecting their savings in fuel bills?
“All the airlines walloped passengers with fuel surcharges in past years. These were fuel cost rises passed on to passengers.
“We have now seen four months of steadily falling oil prices. Why therefore have the airlines not reflected that in ticket prices?”
The Loganair spokesman said “At a time of falling prices the policy can unfortunately mean that the airline does not see the benefit of falling prices for an extended time.
“An additional factor is that fuel prices are in US dollars. With the recent decline in sterling against the dollar this has had an impact on the final price in sterling.”
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