Air India Flying has been associated with excitement. It is either family holiday or a very crucial work trip or a visit of the loved ones that has been long awaited, it is almost always the beginning of something significant when the flight is booked.
Nonetheless, passengers intending to travel with Air India are in the near future likely to experience a marginal rise in the cost of tickets since the airline has initiated fuel premium on some destinations. The move is made when fuel prices in the world are soaring.
The airline companies worldwide are experiencing the burden of the increased prices of aviation fuel and Air India has now moved to revise the fares to cope with the escalated prices. Although the growth is not necessarily huge in all routes, it will certainly affect the general cost of traveling to many customers.
Reasons why Air India is charging a Fuel Surcharge.
Air India and Air India express have declared that both the domestic and the international tickets will attract a fuel surcharge. This alteration has been implemented due to the increased price of the Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF); this is one of the biggest costs to any airline.
The operating cost of an airline can have up to forty percent of fuel alone. In the recent past, the supply shocks and geopolitical friction in the Gulf region have aggravated the price of jet fuel.
Consequently, it is becoming harder and harder to airlines to fly without changing the prices of tickets. The airline has claimed that it has implemented the charge in order to make sure that the flights are viable and viable.
Air India In the absence of such adjustments, the airlines will find it difficult to meet the minimum operating expenses that may even force them to cancel flights.
Prices of Tickets will be rising since March 12.
The introduction of the new fuel surcharge will be done in phases beginning on March 12. Air India In domestic flights, there will be an extra fee of Rs 399 on each ticket. This premium will also be charged to those flights in the SAARC countries.
The amount of the surcharge to be charged will vary on international routes based on the destination. As an illustration, the flights to West Asia will have an extra USD 10 fuel surcharge.
The surcharge could be increased to USD 90 or more to passengers flying to Africa and USD 60 or more to Southeast Asia routes.
The same will also be applicable to the flights connecting major destinations like Singapore that did not previously include any fuel surcharge in the price of the ticket.
Second Period of Surcharge Resumes March 18.
Second cycle of the surcharge will commence since March 18 and it will impact on long haul international routes. Those flights to Europe, North America, and Australia are going to be further adjusted in the fuel prices.
In the case of the European destinations, the fuel surcharge will rise to USD 125 up to USD 100. The travellers travelling to North America will find that the charge will increase by USD 150 to USD 200.
On the same note, it will also affect flights to Australia, where the surcharge will go to USD 200. These developments indicate the increasing pressure airlines have been under in terms of fuel cost and costs of operation.
The Increase in the prices of ATF in the Decision.
The price of the Aviation Turbine Fuel has gone up by a large margin since the beginning of March 2026. This has been attributed to supply shocks and geopolitical tensions which have been hitting the global fuel markets.
The effect is more potent in India since the aviation fuel is liable to high excise taxes, as well as VAT at levels of states in big metro areas such as Delhi and Mumbai. These supplementary taxes cause the fuel to be costlier to the airlines in the country.
Due to this, airlines are also limited in their options. One of the limited options of balancing operational costs is the introduction of fuel surcharge as a means of maintaining the regular operation of flights.
It should be mentioned that the already purchased tickets that were previously purchased prior to the announcement of the surcharge will not be affected.
But in case passengers make some changes like adjusting their dates of travels or altering their itinerary the new charge might be incorporated in the recalculation of the fare.
Surprisingly, other large Indian airlines like IndiGo, SpiceJet and Akasa Air do not yet declare such kind of fuel surcharges.
FAQs
Q1.Why is Air India fare getting higher?
Increasing Aviation Turbine Fuel prices have prompted Air India to charge fuel surcharge. The surcharge is used to cover the cost of fuel as it is a significant operation cost to airlines.
Q2.At what point will new fuel surcharge commence?
The initial period of the surcharge will commence on March 12, whereas the second phase with the long hauls routes will commence on March 18.
Q3.What are the additional fares that passengers will pay on domestic flights?
Another fuel charge of Rs. 399 in the form of an add-on charge will be charged to passengers flying on domestic routes.
Q4.Will already booked tickets be affected?
No. Tickets that have been issued prior to the announcement will not contain the new surcharge except where the passenger requests a change of the travel date or even the itinerary.
Q5.Will other Indian airlines be charging fuel surcharges as well?
At present, fuel surcharge changes have not been declared by such airlines as IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air.
