DANZAS AEI PROPOSES NEW FUEL SURCHARGE FORMULA
Danzas AEI Intercontinental, Business Unit of the Danzas Group, on Monday offered a proposal to equitably resolve the dispute over the way airlines impose and enforce freight surcharges based on the price of oil and the cost of jet fuel.
The proposal, which will be distributed to a number of airlines, contains two key elements:
* Carrier-imposed fuel charges will be determined by prices set on the spot market, and which are adjusted monthly. To that end, Danzas suggested using an index pegged to the per-gallon spot price of U.S. Gulf Coast jet fuel (The index is updated each month by the U.S. Department of Energy).
* Based on a spot pricing formula, air cargo users would agree to pay costs equal to a percentage of their total expenditures with each carrier. Accessorial charges, such as security surcharges after Sept. 11, would not be included in determining a user’s spending levels with a carrier.
Danzas AEI Intercontinental began drafting this proposal after a new round of fuel surcharges imposed April 15. The surcharges, which have been applied to all import, export and domestic air shipments, were passed onto Danzas AEI Intercontinental partners. Shippers and forwarder alike long have been concerned over airline policies imposing fuel surcharges even after fuel prices have declined.
“Basing surcharge levels on real-time market prices is the most equitable solution for all concerned,” said Brian Lindholm, executive vice president and chief operating officer, North America, Danzas AEI Intercontinental. “It provides a mechanism for airlines to recover their costs should fuel prices spike, and it provides timely relief for companies like ours, and for our customers, once upward price pressures abate.”
Based in Basel, Switzerland, Danzas AEI is part of Deutsche Post World Net, and is the world’s leading provider of Information Technology-supported logistics solutions.'