Travel expert Simon Calder said one type of passenger will not be prioritised and could see changes to their flights after a new airline rule affecting passengers flying to and from the UK was announced. Under new contingency plans, if they face fuel shortages this summer, airlines will be able to cancel flights weeks in advance, without losing valuable take-off and landing slots at busy airports.
The new proposals, drawn up by the Government, aim to let carriers plan ahead, helping avoid disruptive last-minute cancellations for passengers. This would allow airlines to merge flights on routes with multiple trips to the same destination on the same day, meaning passengers could be moved from their original booking to a similar one to save fuel. Mr Calder explained the Government’s aim was to “prioritise holiday flights over business departures”.
According to the BBC, Mr Calder used Lufthansa as an example of how the new plans could work. He explained that the German flag carrier airline, the second-largest airline group in Europe by passengers carried, currently operates 10 flights a day between Heathrow Airport and Frankfurt.
“In the middle of summer there aren’t many business travellers around, so therefore Lufthansa could say we’re going to cancel two or three of these,” and instead move passengers on one of these services from an 8.30am departure to one at 10.30am.
“The idea is it would save fuel for people who are on flights from Manchester to the Greek island of Skiathos where there aren’t daily departures,” he said.
Passengers flying with several airlines could see significant changes to flight schedules this summer. Supplies have been squeezed following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which handles around 41% of Europe’s jet fuel. Data from analysts at Kpler showed global shipments of jet fuel and kerosene dropped below 2.3 million tonnes last week – the lowest level on record.
Lufthansa Group has announced the cancellation of 20,000 flights over the next six months in a drastic bid to save 40,000 metric tonnes of jet fuel. The airline noted that fuel prices have doubled, prompting it to axe “unprofitable” short-haul flights operated by its subsidiary, Lufthansa CityLine.
Meanwhile, US carrier American Airlines is responding to the crisis by hiking checked baggage fees for domestic and short-haul international flights. Passengers can expect to pay approximately £7.36 more for their first and second bags, while the fee for a third bag has jumped by over £110. The airline, which also trimmed certain benefits for economy passengers, cited a projected $400million (£294million) increase in first-quarter expenses due to the surge in fuel prices.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
