{"id":580665,"date":"2026-04-04T00:55:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T00:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/580665\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T00:55:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T00:55:18","slug":"westjet-adding-fuel-surcharge-to-companion-voucher-bookings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/580665\/","title":{"rendered":"WestJet adding fuel surcharge to companion voucher bookings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

WestJet will begin charging more for customers to use one of the perks included in their annual rewards membership, due to aviation fuel<\/a> skyrocketing in price.<\/p>\n

Beginning April 8, WestJet<\/a> said it will introduce a temporary fuel surcharge of $60 on all bookings made with a companion voucher.<\/p>\n

The vouchers are part of WestJet\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

WestJet said the new $60 fee will be reflected in the \u201cother ATC\u201d (air transportation charges) portion of companion voucher bookings.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

An email to rewards members said companion voucher bookings completed before April 8 will not be affected.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The current cost for WestJet members to cash in their round-trip companion vouchers is:<\/p>\n

Within Canada or to\/from continental U.S.:
UltraBasic, Econo, EconoFlex:\u202f$119\u202f(plus taxes, fees, charges and other ATC)
Premium or Premium Flex:\u202f$219\u202f(plus taxes, fees, charges and other ATC)<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the world:
UltraBasic, Econo, EconoFlex:\u202f$399\u202f(plus taxes, fees, charges and other ATC)
Premium or Premium Flex:\u202f$499\u202f(plus taxes, fees, charges and other ATC)<\/p>\n

The Calgary-based airline said it will continue to assess the surcharge and adjust as conditions allow.<\/p>\n

\u201cFuel is the largest contributor to airline operating costs, and a temporary surcharge helps us manage the recent surge in fuel prices,\u201d a spokesperson said in a statement to Global News on Friday.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Get<\/p>\n

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Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile airfares can be adjusted and have greater flexibility in pricing, the nature of our companion vouchers does not allow for this same flexibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

WestJet did not say how long the temporary fuel surcharge will remain in place but told its customers it would be removed \u201conce jet fuel prices return to normal levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:49
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSoaring fuel costs impacting package deliveries, food prices in Canada\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

About one-fifth of the world\u2019s oil supply \u2014 20 million barrels per day \u2014 travels through the waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula on its way to the open seas and then to global customers.<\/p>\n

With fuel not passing through the strait, crude has now soared to its highest price in years and its derivatives \u2014 jet fuel, diesel and gasoline \u2014 have also shot up significantly.<\/p>\n

The price of heavy fuel oil \u2014 used to power container ships and other large vessels \u2014 at the world\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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Jet fuel, diesel and gasoline all derive from crude, making them sensitive to any swerve in its price.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore on Consumer
\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:58
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIran war: Rising oil prices put financial pressure on Canadians\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Airfreight, which has seen demand rise amid the dearth of container ship voyages, is also costing more as aviation fuel prices skyrocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to start having money tacked on to making any transport movement,\u201d said John Corey, president of the Freight Management Association of Canada.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, that\u2019s going to flow through and the consumer is going to pay for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4:31
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMiddle East airspace shutdown creates travel chaos\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Fuel often marks airlines\u2019 highest cost. Air Canada spent more than $5.1 billion on it in 2024, amounting to 24 per cent of the carrier\u2019s operating costs \u2014 its largest expense.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recent sharp increase due to the situation in Iran has already made operating flights more expensive. Based on this, it\u2019s likely further pricing adjustments may be needed,\u201d WestJet spokeswoman Julia Kaiser warned in an email in mid-March.<\/p>\n

Last month, Air Transat tacked on higher fuel surcharges for flights to Europe while large international airlines Air New Zealand, Australia\u2019s Qantas Airways and Scandinavia\u2019s SAS also announced price hikes abroad.<\/p>\n

\u2014 With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The impact of higher fuel prices due to violence in the Middle East is now starting to show…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[222350,189843,45,49,48,1849,46,134,49809],"class_list":["post-580665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-avgas","tag-aviation-fuel","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-consumer","tag-economy","tag-money","tag-westjet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}