UPDATE: The additional fuel surcharges have been removed according to new information from Renés Points. However, there is still no explanation from Delta Air Lines. It is not clear if this was a mistake, or if a new fuel surcharge policy was simply implemented too early. Either way, it’s good news for now!
Just earlier this year, Delta raised partner award prices making travel on Delta metal cheaper than flying partners for most awards. Now Delta has taken it one step further and is now passing on significant carrier-imposed surcharges on Virgin Atlantic Upper Class redemptions.
If you want to fly round trip from New York JFK to London, you are now looking at paying almost $1,000 in surcharges in addition to taxes, fees, and miles. That is an extreme increase over booking just last week! It’s also bad news for customers in places like Seattle, where Virgin Atlantic recently took over service to London that was previously operated by Delta.
For comparison’s sake, you can book a direct flight on Delta for under $300 in taxes and fees. Due to Delta’s recent changes, booking flights on Delta also costs less miles than booking any partner flights. The very small silver lining is that when flying economy, no additional fees are charged when flying Virgin Atlantic instead of Delta.
Unfortunately, this means that one of the best ways to book Virgin Atlantic Upper Class is no longer. I’m happy I had the chance to try it out when I did because with this increase in fees I will not be able to justify flying Virgin Atlantic Upper Class over other options available.
HT: The Points Guy
