A consumer group in Australia is criticizing Qantas Airways Ltd.'s plan to raise the card surcharge it imposes on purchases of international flights.
Qantas will increase the surcharge from AU$25 (US$24.50 or 18 euros) to AU$30 per passenger starting Dec. 1 for bookings made with credit, debit or charge cards, the airline announced earlier this month.
The only way customers may avoid the surcharge is to book flights online and pay through Bpay, a third-party online payment system operated by the Australian company CardLink Services Ltd.
The surcharge increase is "excessive," said Christopher Zinn, a spokesman for the consumer group, Choice. Airlines such as Qantas are using surcharges to produce revenue, and that is unfair to their Australian passengers, he said.
Qantas is not the only airline that applies card surcharges for international flights. Air New Zealand Ltd. charges AU$8 for credit card bookings for Australian passengers flying to New Zealand, while Tiger Airways Pte. Ltd. applies a credit card fee of AU$10 and Virgin Blue Ltd. charges AU$12 for international flights.
