HOLIDAYMAKERS flying on British Airways will be stung by higher prices after the airline put up its fuel surcharge yesterday.

Long-haul passengers will have to pay £10 more per flight in economy seats while those in business or first class will pay an extra £20.
It means the surcharge will go up from £75 to £85 per economy passenger on a flight which lasts less than nine hours. For a longer flight, the tax will rise from £88 to £98.
Domestic and short-haul flights will not be affected.
The news comes as BA passengers await the dates of a strike by the airline’s cabin crew. The walk-out must take place between April 4 and April 25, with Easter being the most likely time.
BA chief financial officer Nick Swift said: “It’s with real regret that we are having to increase our long-haul fuel surcharge. As customers will know from the price at the petrol pumps, the cost of fuel has continued to rise significantly over the past three months.
Long-haul passengers will have to pay £10 more per flight in economy
“For us, fuel now represents over one third of our costs and particularly affects our long-haul flights.
“We are very aware of the wider economic pressures on our customers at the moment and we will bear the vast majority of the recent fuel price rise ourselves to keep this increase in surcharge to a minimum.”
BA is blaming the increased charge, which will come into effect on Friday, on rising oil prices.
Yesterday the price of oil reached its all-time high against sterling. The highest recorded price was $147 a barrel in 2008. Yesterday the price per barrel stood at $121 but because of the weaker pound it meant that in sterling terms it was at a record high of £74.60. The increased cost of oil has already been passed down to British motorists.