Less than a month after cutting its fuel surcharge in half, Porter Airlines is raising it back up to $40.
Porter is again raising the fee, which applies to new VIPorter reward bookings, because “the global oil market has since experienced unexpected and sharp price increases,” the airline said in an email to VIPorter members Friday evening.
Porter added that its goal was to eliminate the fuel surcharge entirely when it halved the fee to $20 on June 23.
“We truly hoped our next update would confirm that full removal,” the email reads.
The move is temporary, according to the airline, and it’s being done “to ensure we can continue offering the full value of your VIPorter points” amid a period of increasing jet fuel costs.
Porter said it still plans to remove the fuel surcharge entirely when the market conditions allow for it, adding that “this is not the direction we wanted to take.”
No fuel surcharge on regular Porter bookings
The surcharge applies to new VIPorter reward bookings made as of Friday (July 17), and all bookings made before that are protected at their original rates, the airline said, adding that there is no fuel surcharge on regular bookings made without redeeming VIPorter points.
Porter, Air Canada and WestJet all introduced fuel surcharges in the spring when oil and gas prices spiked significantly after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz — where about 20 per cent of the world’s oil traffic passes — following the United States and Israel’s attacks on Iran.
Porter then halved its fuel surcharge on June 23, citing the fact that the market had begun to normalize.
The U.S. and Iran signed a deal earlier in June aimed at ending the war which allowed ships to pass through the strait, though at a slower pace than before the war.
