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The surcharges often are used against miles-based travel. You book the ticket one miles, but still get hit by various taxes and surcharges. Often it's a large chunk of the total fare.

Qantas has a "fuel surcharge" for a long period during high oil prices. This surcharge was literally to bill you for a base cost of their service. Arguably pure marketing.

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I wrote to the ACCC about it. I asked what figure per mile flown and per gallon price at hedge was used to calculate the fee. If the fee did not reflect actual mileage flown or exposed cost, I argued it was misleading to call it a fuel surcharge and thus an illegal impost to get round pricing limits. No reply, but a barrackroom lawyer rarely deserves one.

Have Qantas removed the "surcharge" yet? I remember hearing about it in the late 80s, and continue to hear about it through the 90s.

Still high taxes for Qantas rewards redemptions. Majorly so.

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