Bahamasair to introduce fuel surcharge as jet fuel prices rise by 55% 

Bahamas: Nassau based airline Bahamasair has announced that it will be applying a fuel surcharge which will reflect a 55% increase in jet fuel prices, said managing director Tracy Cooper while acknowledging the impact on passengers. Cooper said that over the last few weeks, the price of fuel has raised because of the war that is happening in the Middle East and unfortunately this increase in fuel price at this point is around 55%.

He highlighted that the airline is spreading the fuel cost increase across all passengers and added what the team is doing at Bahamasair is that they are trying to spread that fuel cost increase over all of the gamut of the passengers.

The Managing Director added that the fuel costs are only a portion of the ticket price which is why the adjustments will appear as a surcharge rather than a change to the base fare. He said that the team is not changing the ticket itself but are simply incorporating the increases into fuel surcharge.

He continued to explain that this approach allows the surcharge to be removed once fuel prices stabilize and noted that they are doing it this way so that immediately when the prices return to normal, they are able to then remove that surcharge and have the prices of tickets still stay the same.

While taking in acknowledgement several concerns, Cooper noted that the team understands that there might be come concerns but unfortunately with a 55% and increasing in fuel pricing, some of it has to be passed on to consumers.

President and Chief Executive of Western Air, Sherrexcia Rolle said that the passengers of the airline will also see a fuel surcharge. She said that while fuel prices are increasing, the passengers will also be seeing a minimal change through a fuel surcharge and said that the team continues to monitor the situation and hope for stability of the fuel prices soon.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister of the Bahamas Philip Davis has assured the citizens and residents that electricity bills will not increase despite international oil price increases. He said that the government has been closely monitoring developments, engaging with the energy partners and planning for various possibilities.

The PM noted that the increasing global oil prices are contributing to broader cost of living pressures in the Bahamas such as transport, higher freight and food costs but bringing down the prices for Bahamian families in the government’s major focus right now. He assured that nothing will get in the way of that and they won’t put more pressure on the people.