If you’ve tried to book an award seat on most international airlines you have likely been a bit shell-shocked by the fuel surcharges tacked on to award tickets. How shell-shocked? Premium cabin tickets that transit in the UK can run up to $1,000 because of an additional departure tax they charge on flights originating in the UK (not on flights TO the UK, though). I was looking at a ticket to Dubai last week where the surcharges were $650. When you’re looking for 4 people, that can add up to a significant amount (how are 4 free tickets $2600?).
I thought it would be helpful to put together a chart of which airlines charge fuel surcharges on award tickets and which do not. I’ve compiled this info from a number of sources, but I should point out that Dan’s Deals has been extremely helpful.
If you have any changes/additions please put in the comments and I’ll update the chart.
| AIRLINE | ALLIANCE | WHERE THEY DO ADD A FUEL SURCHARGE ON AWARD TICKETS | WHERE THEY DO NOT ADD A FUEL SURCHARGE ON AWARD TICKETS |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR CANADA | STAR | AIR CANADA AND LUFTHANSA | ALL OTHER STAR ALLIANCE PARTNERS |
| ALASKA AIRLINES | NONE | BRITISH AIRWAYS | ALL ALASKA AIRLINES FLIGHTS AND OTHER PARTNERS |
| AMERICAN AIRLINES | ONEWORLD | BRITISH AIRWAYS | ALL OTHER AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHTS AND OTHER ONEWORLD PARTNERS |
| CONTINENTAL AIRLINES | STAR | NONE | ALL FLIGHTS ON CONTINENTAL AND WITH PARTNERS |
| DELTA AIR LINES | SKYTEAM | DELTA FLIGHTS NOT ORIGINATING FROM THE US (EXCEPT ASIA); PARTNER FLIGHTS NOT ORIGINATING FROM THE US (EXCEPT KOREAN); V AUSTRALIA & MALAYSIA AIRLINES FLIGHTS ORIGINATING FROM THE US. | ALL DELTA FLIGHTS ORIGINATING IN THE US OR ASIA AND PARTNER FLIGHTS ORIGINATING FROM THE US, EXCEPT V AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA AIRLINES. KOREAN AIRLINES FLIGHTS. |
| SOUTHWEST AIRLINES | NONE | NONE | SOUTHWEST/AIRTRAN |
| UNITED AIRLINES | STAR | NONE | ALL FLIGHTS ON UNITED AND WITH PARTNERS |
| US AIRWAYS | STAR | NONE | ALL FLIGHTS ON US AIRWAYS AND WITH PARTNERS |
| ALL OTHER INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES ADD FUEL SURCHARGES TO AWARD TICKETS EXCEPT: | |||
| ANA | STAR | ALL ANA FLIGHTS AND PARTNERS, EXCEPT US AIRWAYS | US AIRWAYS FLIGHTS |
| BRITISH AIRWAYS | ONEWORLD | ALL BA FLIGHTS AND ONEWORLD PARTNERS, EXCEPT LAN and AMERICAN | LAN, AA (but BA will add the fuel surcharge if AA already includes it in the fare) |
| EUROBONUS (SAS) | STAR | NONE | ALL SAS, BLUE1 AND PARTNER FLIGHTS |
| FLYINGBLUE | SKYTEAM | ALL EXCEPT DELTA FLIGHTS ORIGINATING IN THE US | DELTA FLIGHTS ORIGINATING IN THE US |
| LAN | ONEWORLD | NONE | ALL LAN AND PARTNER FLIGHTS |
| SOUTH AFRICAN | STAR | NONE | ALL SOUTH AFRICAN AND PARTNER FLIGHTS |
