British Airways has risked further wrath from customers after increasing fuel surcharges for the second time in a month.

The new surcharge, which is being blamed on the rising cost of oil, will affect all tickets and equal £218 for a return flight of over nine hours, up from the previous charge of £158.

This is the thirteenth time BA has increased its fuel surcharges since it introduced them in 2004. It has decreased the surcharge only once, by £5 per sector, in January 2007.

On long-haul return flights of less than nine hours the surcharge is £156, up from £126, and on short-haul flights the cost is £32 return, up from £26. The new costs will apply to any tickets issued from Tuesday, June 3.

On some routes, such as to New York in the offpeak travel season, passengers may find the surcharge is more than the basic fare and other highly competitive long-haul routes.

BA has blamed the move on continuing high oil prices. A spokeswoman told Times Online: "Oil is now at over $120 a barrel, which compared even just to last year, when it was around $80, is a massive increase."

The new charges apply to the UK market only, but BA says it will make similar increases to the fuel surcharges it applies to tickets issued abroad.

British Airways said earlier this month that it would ground part of its fleet from October to cut costs and stem potential losses caused by the crippling price of fuel. Analysts have given warning that the airline may only break even or worse for the next two years.

The aircraft that are grounded are likely to be BA's oldest, least fuel-efficient aircraft.

BA is hoping tough times will help it take the lead in industry consolidation. Willie Walsh, the chief executive, met with his opposite number at Continental Airlines in Houston last week and has resumed negotiations with American Airlines with the aim of creating a transatlantic alliance.

The airline industry around the world is struggling to come to terms with soaring oil prices, with some of the smaller players such as Silverjet, a business class only service, on the brink of financial collapse.

The fuel bill for flying from London to New York has quadrupled in the past eight years and the impact on airlines has already been seen in the US, where American Airlines is cutting jobs, retiring old planes and charging passengers to check in their bags. In Europe, Air France-KLM has warned that its profits would fall by a third under the weight of rising fuel costs.

On Wednesday Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic announced fuel surcharge rises, although the carrier said that those sitting at the front of the aircraft would face higher charges than those in economy-class seats at the back.

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