Virgin Blue, V Australia hike airfares due to rising fuel costs

Virgin Blue and its international arm V Australia will raise the cost of all airfares next week, with Virgin Blue Group CEO John Borghetti citing the continued increase in the cost of global jet fuel prices, which have risen by 10% in the past month.

From Monday March 21, domestic fares on Virgin Blue will increase by $6-$10 depending on the length of the flight.

All V Australia flights to the USA will cost an extra $50 each way, as the fuel surcharge goes from $115 to $165.

Travellers to Abu Dhabi, Europe and the UK will be faced with an extra $20 in the fuel surcharge each way (going from $220 to $240) while fares on Pacific Blue and Polynesian Blue flights will increase by up to $20 per sector.

This increase comes barely three weeks since Virgin Blue doubled some of its baggage charges to help recoup rising fuel costs

The latest price hikes will go "some way to addressing the latest rises in global fuel prices" Borghetti said, "however they will not recover the full cost. In making these changes, we have been very conscious of balancing our commitment to providing competitive fares with the operational costs of our business."

The past months have also seen fuel-driven increases in airfares from Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Qantas – three times, in fact, on February 11, March 9 and April 19.