Mombasa Air Safari, a Kenyan coast scheduled airline, has been operating on unchanged fares for the last few years, however over the last year, jet fuel prices have gradually increased, resulting in a modest fuel surcharge being applied on its Coast-Mara route.
The increase is now compounded with 8% VAT levied by the government. The nett increase in the airline’s fuel cost for Mombasa uplifts between November 2017 and November 2018 is 34%. According to Mombasa Air Safari, such an increase is not sustainable for any airline, especially on its longer routes.
After weighing up the implications to its customers against its operating budget, the carrier has reached the following decision:
On the Coast-Mara route, Mombasa Air Safari will apply a modest fuel surcharge of US$10 per ticket, whether the ticket is issued for one way or return.
On the Wilson-Mara route, the carrier will do the utmost to continue without implementing a surcharge until June 30, 2019, subject to further upheavals in the cost of fuel. The same will apply for flights to and from Amboseli.
The surcharge will apply to all new bookings for travel from December 1, except for those that have been paid for prior to December 1, i.e bookings for travel dates after December 1 that have been ticketed and paid for will not be affected for the fuel surcharge.
