Another Fare Increase From Swiss

Sigh .... Another Press Release from Swiss, another hit in the pocket of its customers.In February 2012, Swiss announced an increase in their Fuel Surcharge due to the increase in oil costs. On the day of the Press Release (February 22nd 2012) the price of crude oil closed at $106.3. Today, they announced another revision of their prices. Not related to the oil price, just a nice revision.But incredibly, although the price of crude oil closed yesterday at $89.9, a drop of more than 15% from the date of the Fuel Surcharge hike, the announcements is of yet another increase. In what is described as an 'innovation', they have also scrapped the treatment of sports equipment as separate from the baggage allowance, which meant that you could carry golf or ski equipment for free. From June 1st, this equipment will form part of what they laughingly call the 'free' baggage allowance. I say laughingly because it is of course, not free. You have

paid for it in your fare. Just as you have paid for the same cheese sandwich on every single flight. Not only is the weight of the item calculated as part of your luggage allowance but the very existence of it means that if you are bringing a pair of skis, you cannot check another piece of luggage without incurring a charge. That's a truly wonderful Swiss innovation! So my question is, where is the announcement of a response to drop in the price of oil? Can you believe that for a European flight you are paying 44CHF for fuel each way? There has to come a time when the price gouging must stop but what sticks in the throat more is the way Swiss refuses to treat customers fairly and reduce the Fuel Surcharge as swiftly in response to oil price drops as it zealously increases it when the price of oil goes up. For example, the February 22nd announcement states thatthe Fuel Surcharge increase was because "the price of crude oil and aviation kerosene has seen a massive increase since the airline’s fuel surcharges were last adjusted in December 2011". Note the use of the word "massive". When the Surcharge was last raised, the price of crude oil was $100.1. So the increase they describe as massive is from $100.1 to $106.3 - roughly 6%. But as I say, the drop in the price of oil since February is over 15%. So if an increase of 6% is massive, how would they describe a decrease of 15%? It would be nice if the national carrier treated its customers fairly. The February Press Release states "SWISS constantly monitors oil prices, and will continue to adjust its fuel surcharges in response to further fuel price trends on the commodities markets" but that is very clearly not what they are doing. What do you think? Am I being fair or do I have my sums wrong?


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