The impact of higher fuel prices due to violence in the Middle East is now starting to show up in more places, including flight bookings.
WestJet will begin charging more for customers to use one of the perks included in their annual rewards membership, due to aviation fuel skyrocketing in price.
Beginning April 8, WestJet said it will introduce a temporary fuel surcharge of $60 on all bookings made with a companion voucher.
The vouchers are part of WestJet’s Mastercard credit card and rewards programs, allowing the account holder who buys a round trip for themself to get a reduced fare for a second guest on the same itinerary.
WestJet said the new $60 fee will be reflected in the “other ATC” (air transportation charges) portion of companion voucher bookings.
An email to rewards members said companion voucher bookings completed before April 8 will not be affected.
WestJet said while regular airfares can be adjusted several times a day and have greater pricing flexibility, the price of companion vouchers is a fixed amount by region and cabin.
The current cost for WestJet members to cash in their round-trip companion vouchers is:
Within Canada or to/from continental U.S.:
UltraBasic, Econo, EconoFlex: $119 (plus taxes, fees, charges and other ATC)
Premium or Premium Flex: $219 (plus taxes, fees, charges and other ATC)
Elsewhere in the world:
UltraBasic, Econo, EconoFlex: $399 (plus taxes, fees, charges and other ATC)
Premium or Premium Flex: $499 (plus taxes, fees, charges and other ATC)
The Calgary-based airline said it will continue to assess the surcharge and adjust as conditions allow.
“Fuel is the largest contributor to airline operating costs, and a temporary surcharge helps us manage the recent surge in fuel prices,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Global News on Friday.
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“While airfares can be adjusted and have greater flexibility in pricing, the nature of our companion vouchers does not allow for this same flexibility.”
WestJet did not say how long the temporary fuel surcharge will remain in place but told its customers it would be removed “once jet fuel prices return to normal levels.”
In the month since the Israel-United States attack on Iran resulted in the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz ocean passage, experts have warned that an increase in energy costs would be passed on to consumers as major shortages were forecasted.
About one-fifth of the world’s oil supply — 20 million barrels per day — travels through the waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula on its way to the open seas and then to global customers.
With fuel not passing through the strait, crude has now soared to its highest price in years and its derivatives — jet fuel, diesel and gasoline — have also shot up significantly.
The price of heavy fuel oil — used to power container ships and other large vessels — at the world’s top 20 refuelling hubs has nearly doubled since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks in late February, according to figures from data platform Ship & Bunker.
Jet fuel, diesel and gasoline all derive from crude, making them sensitive to any swerve in its price.
But aviation fuel has come under the greatest pressure, according to Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh. Jet kerosene tends to see the lowest inventories because it needs to be stored in specialized tanks, she said.
Consumers have been feeling the jump in the price of oil and its derivatives at the pumps and on their plane fares for weeks now, with no end in sight.
Airfreight, which has seen demand rise amid the dearth of container ship voyages, is also costing more as aviation fuel prices skyrocket.
“You’re going to start having money tacked on to making any transport movement,” said John Corey, president of the Freight Management Association of Canada.
“Ultimately, that’s going to flow through and the consumer is going to pay for that.”
Fuel often marks airlines’ highest cost. Air Canada spent more than $5.1 billion on it in 2024, amounting to 24 per cent of the carrier’s operating costs — its largest expense.
“The recent sharp increase due to the situation in Iran has already made operating flights more expensive. Based on this, it’s likely further pricing adjustments may be needed,” WestJet spokeswoman Julia Kaiser warned in an email in mid-March.
Last month, Air Transat tacked on higher fuel surcharges for flights to Europe while large international airlines Air New Zealand, Australia’s Qantas Airways and Scandinavia’s SAS also announced price hikes abroad.
— With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
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