Qantas lifts base ticket prices to offset dropping of fuel surcharge

Sydney

QANTAS Airways Ltd said it would be raising base ticket prices to compensate for the axing of a separate fuel surcharge, pushing back against calls for the airline industry to lower fares in the wake of falling oil prices.

The Australian carrier, which is recovering from years of sharp earnings declines, said a more than halving in oil prices over the past six months was not enough to offset strong competition in international fares.