Private airlines raise fuel surcharge on tickets

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Jet Airways Ltd and unlisted Kingfisher Airlines said they were raising fuel surcharge for the seventh time in 12 months by 300 rupees ($7.6) per domestic ticket to offset higher jet fuel prices.

Budget airlines SpiceJet Ltd, Deccan Aviation Ltd and Go Air would take a decision by Monday, officials at the airlines said.

The move would take the fuel surcharge on a ticket to 1,650 rupees and follows a more than 14 percent increase in aviation turbine fuel prices by oil marketing firms such as Indian Oil Corp and Reliance Industries Ltd.

Indian aviation fuel prices, among the highest in the world, account for nearly 40 percent of the operating cost of a domestic airline. The steep increase in fuel surcharge could moderate passenger growth, analysts said.

Air traffic has expanded by more than 25 percent in India over the last two years helped by airlines that offered tickets for nothing or as low as one rupee.