Delta isn’t usually at the top of mind when considering award travel to and from Europe, primarily because of astronomical pricing that often hits low to mid-six digits. In addition, the airline (air line?) has historically added fuel charges to tickets that originate in Europe, usually adding ~$150 to the total in taxes and fees that it charges.
It looks like those charges are a thing of the past. Dan’s Deals has discovered that one-way award tickets on Delta no longer include these fees, a welcome savings given the massive award prices.
This drop in fees applies to all cabins – basic, main, premium and business. However, it only affects Delta flights; flights booked on partners still seem to have the same fees as before.
The News
- Delta has removed fuel surcharges from one-way and round trip award flights to the US that originate in Europe. This often cuts out ~ $150 from the cash co-pay on flights that are booked with SkyMiles.
- This only applies to Delta flights, not on partners.
Here’s a sampling of how taxes and fees have changed on several one-way routes from Europe to the US:
| Route | Previous taxes and fees | Current taxes and fees |
|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam – Minneapolis | €243 | €101 |
| Amsterdam – Detroit | €254 | €101 |
| Frankfurt – JFK | €297 | €143 |
| Brussels – JFK | €219 | €53 |
| Milan – JFK | €194 | €45 |
| Rome – Boston | €202 | €57 |
Quick Thoughts
Outside of rare partner saver availability and flash sales, Delta’s European pricing often stinks. That said, it’s still good to see them dropping these supposed “fuel surcharges,” which never actually seemed to fluctuate much according to the price of fuel.
Most of the deals that we do see to / from Europe on Delta seem to be in economy these days. Those tickets had the same fees as premium cabins, so now that those fees are removed, it will make Delta economy awards from Europe more appealing.
It’s important to note that there can still be copious fees when booking through partners, these changes only apply to award flights actually flown by Delta.
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It would be nice to see BA and Virgin do the same
I repriced an award flight home from KEF on DL today on a whim and understood why the points decreased but was confused why the taxes/fees had significantly decreased from 31,535 ISK to 8100 iSK (about a $170 savings). This explains it! Obviously Delta was just going to pocket the already paid fees so I’m very glad I decided to re-shop my flights.