Firefly To Reintroduce Fuel Surcharge From March 21

SUBANG (Selangor, Malaysia), March 12 (Bernama) -- Community airline, Firefly, will reintroduce the fuel surcharge for flight bookings made from March 21 to offset persisting high jet fuel prices. In a statement Monday, Firefly said that a fuel surcharge of RM10 for domestic travel will be imposed for each leg and RM20 (US$1=RM3.01) for regional routes. It also said that all flight bookings made before March 21 are unaffected. Shorthaul Malaysia Airlines and Firefly Chief Operating Officer, Ignatius M.C. Ong, said the company had abolished the fuel surcharge in the last quarter of 2008, but regrettably, was now forced to reintroduce it due to unsustainable higher operating costs. "We will continuously monitor jet fuel prices and ensure that the surcharge we levy on passengers is fair and benchmarked against other airlines operating regionally," he added. Jet fuel prices rose to US$136.94 per barrel this month, from February's US$131.39 while in January, it was at US$108.22. --BERNAMA