Passenger Fuel Surcharge Hikes

On 26 October, a couple of Chinese airlines, including Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Capital Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines announced, separately, that they were going to raise passenger fuel surcharges for domestic flights.¹

The following are some salient facts in the lead up to this passenger fuel surcharge "hike":

• On 25 October 2010, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued a notice that the price of kerosene used in the aviation industry was to be increased.²
• The NDRC is the authority in charge of setting or adjusting the prices of vital commodities, including setting guidelines for prices and discount margins for entities in the civil aviation industry.