Lufthansa, Northwest raise fuel surcharges

Lufthansa, Northwest raise fuel surcharges    Lufthansa Cargo and Northwest Airlines Cargo are both raising their fuel surcharge to combat the record fuel prices that have blighted the aviation industry in the last few months.
   Lufthansa Cargo is raising its fuel surcharge to 0.50 euros (61 cents) from 0.45 euros (55 cents) per kilo of actual freight weight, effective Sept. 5.
   Northwest Airlines Cargo will place a 5-cent-per-kilogram increase in its fuel surcharge to 50 cents per kilo for most international shipments originating in the United States, while surcharges for domestic shipments will increase 2 cents to 21 cents per pound, both effective Sept. 5.
   At the same time, Lufthansa said it has adjusted its methodology by adding two new threshold limits to the Fuel Price Index. The German airline’s index is based on the average price of aviation fuel in the five key global spot markets. Once the index exceeds a specific benchmark for two consecutive weeks, Lufthansa adjusts the fuel surcharge accordingly upwards.