[Anonymous]

[KSHaggag]

I have tried recently to redeem some miles from my Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account to upgrade my flights from eligible Premium Economy to Upper Class .For the first time ever I am facing an awkward issue ,which is that I was told by VS that I should also pay for the difference of ” fuel surcharge ” applicable between Premium Eco and Upper Class !.let alone the UK APD tax if I stop in London ( my itinerary is starting in DXB via LHR onwards to USA ) ;this departure tax is higher according to your class of travel be it Eco,Premium Eco or Business ..
I have redeemed miles with dozens of carriers so far and this is the first time I am asked to settle the difference in fuel surcharge between the original class paid and the upgraded class using my miles .
I would love to hear from anyone who has gone through this before .

[MartynSinclair]

I cant answer about the fuel surcharge, but my understanding is that if you are in London for less than 24 hours ‘in transit’ APD is not applicable..

[openfly]

This sounds odd. The fuel surcharge in economy plus, business class and first class is the same amount on VS and BA. It is only economy that has the basic charge.
It’s scandalous that the airlines are even charging a fuel surcharge with oil at $40 a barrel!!

[KSHaggag]

Thanks ..yes ,I know that APD is not applicable if it is for less than 24 hours ;no problem about this !

Has anyone gone through a redemption/upgrade attempt with VS before ? It s the first time I do it with VS .I did redeem miles from my KLM account five months ago to upgrade from Ecomony to Business and never had to pay any diff of fuel surcharge .

[KSHaggag]

If I may ask BT to make sure about this ;this info was stipulated by a VS agent online .Thank you !

[TimFitzgeraldTC]

BA charge for fuel surcharge differences (YQ which is now called carrier imposed surcharge but was originally the fuel surcharge) if you upgrade with Avios and I know United charge the APD difference if you upgrade from Economy to Business with miles. I can’t clarify 100% as not at desk but pretty sure BA have different YQ tax levels for Economy, Premiu
& Business/First and I think Virgin do (up to Upper). I can check Monday if not before.

[KSHaggag]

Thanks Tim !

I will be looking forward to hearing from you on Monday then !

Let me then declare KLM ( the airline with which I redeemed miles dozens of times ) a real Angel !…they never ever charged me a penny for any diff of fuel surcharge ! there are a lot of other airlines out there doing the same .
I understand nowadays that fuel surcharge is indeed part of the air fare and it goes directly into the airlines pockets so this is not a tax .Miles redemption levels should nowadays cover the fare including the fuel surcharges ;i see it ridiculous to think differently .

[TimFitzgeraldTC]

Hi KSHaggag

Yes – Flying Blue I haven’t encountered the surcharges on top.

BA YQ to NYC

Y – £163
W – £163
J – £269
F – £269

Virgin Fuel Surcharges to JFK

Y – £163
W – £183
J – £269

Interestingly recently did a BA Upgrade Y to W to Jeddah and they still wanted about £50 per sector – even though no extra fuel surcharges and no extra APD on the way back.

[KSHaggag]

Thanks Tim !

I believe it is outrageously unacceptable to settle fuel surcharge differences on upgrades with miles .Shall i say that KLM is not business oriented ? they ARE !! ..they taught commercial aviation to the whole world in 1919 and here they are ,still flying !! I wish them GOOD !..I will support them eagerly !
Let me ask those airlines if ,in the first place ,they collect fuel surcharges on staff free or discounted tickets !!..they would better do instead of collecting differences on upgraded tickets with our hard earned miles !

[SealinkBF]

I’d recommend http://www.v-flyer.com: a group of dedicated Virgin Atlantic Mileage Redeemers!

I’m sure VS do charge the applicable taxes and “extra charges” relevant to the cabin you are travelling in.

I would also say that not all agents at VS are equal. As you are attempting to upgrade to UC maybe the Upper Class team would be better placed to help!

[KSHaggag]

Thank you SealinkBF !

I noticed after several conversations with VS agents that the levels of knowledge among them varies widely !..I am disappointed really .

[Author]

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