New surcharge on CY fares

CYPRUS Airways (CY) yesterday announced the introduction of a new service charge that will add between £10 and £40 to the cost of an air ticket from June 1.

The £10 fee will apply to CY flights to Greece and the Middle East. It will rise to £20 on flights to Europe and the Gulf, and £40 on long-haul destinations such as the US, Canada, Africa, Australia and the Far East.

The new service fee will not be included in the advertised air fare, so travel agents are advising customers to take into account that the new service charge comes on top of airport taxes and fuel surcharges, all of which can add a significant amount to what can appear to be a bargain price.

The Association of Cyprus Travel Agents (ACTA) has been aware of the introduction of the new fee for some time. The organisation says it is standard practice in European countries and is imposed by airlines and travel agents, depending on who issues the ticket.

While CY is introducing the fee, it is simultaneously cancelling the long-time practice of giving seven per cent commission on fares to travel agents that they deal with, which has been a bone of contention for some time as airlines started to add charges as ‘extras’ instead of including them in the fares.

“Cyprus Airways, seeing the developments and the tendencies that prevail internationally in the airline business and mainly in the European arena to which Cyprus belongs, announces that from June 1, 2006 they will proceed with the imposition of a service fee for all the tickets that are issued by the airline’s offices,” a statement from the airline said.

Currently, the total amount of extra charges for a flight to Heathrow is £46 return. The new charges will bring the extras to £66.

ACTA has said the way charges are compiled and not included in advertised fares can be very misleading.

– 2 – May 24, 2006

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.