Fuel dumping, at least among people searching for a deal, is the practice of purchasing a ticket in such a way that fuel surcharges are not added. Paid tickets have three components: base fare, government taxes, and fuel surcharges.

On some tickets, the majority of the price is made up of fuel surcharges, so dumping them from the price makes the ticket far cheaper.

Here's page 712 of the FlyerTalk thread on the topic if you want to know more.

Two days ago, American Airlines added fuel surcharges to Malaysia Airlines awards.

British Airways' two daily flights between New York-JFK and London-City on all-business-class A318s have incredible award space next June.

It's a route and plane that fascinates me, and one way for 40k Avios + $438 seems like an OK deal for a fantastic product, level of service, and the opportunity to arrive at London-City instead of Heathrow or Gatwick.

What's different about the flight? What is the award space picture? Is it worth the fuel surcharges?

The Flight

British Airways operates two daily flights between New York-JFK and London-City.

The Points Guys says he has an official statement from the American Airlines PR department:

"Last night, in a routine effort to better align American to industry standards with other global carriers, American began collecting carrier-imposed surcharges on tickets for travel on other carrier’s metal.  This change was intended for revenue tickets only, but the surcharge was erroneously added to AAdvantage award redemptions on other airlines as well.  Except in the cases of British Airways and Iberia (where American currently collects these surcharges), no carrier-imposed surcharges will be applied when redeeming AAdvantage miles for award travel on other carriers.  Any

Update at 12:45 PM ET: The Points Guys says he has an official statement from the American Airlines PR department:

"Last night, in a routine effort to better align American to industry standards with other global carriers, American began collecting carrier-imposed surcharges on tickets for travel on other carrier’s metal.  This change was intended for revenue tickets only, but the surcharge was erroneously added to AAdvantage award redemptions on other airlines as well.  Except in the cases of British Airways and Iberia (where American currently collects these surcharges), no carrier-imposed surcharges will be applied when redeeming AAdvantage miles for

This is the eighteenth post in a monthlong series that started here. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete. I am writing this for an audience of people who know nothing about frequent flier miles, and my goal is that by the end, you know enough to fly for free anywhere you want to go. Previously Using BA.com to Search for Awards.

Using qantas.com for award searches can help you get maximum value from your American Airlines miles.

This is the seventeenth post in a monthlong series that started here. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete. I am writing this for an audience of people who know nothing about frequent flier miles, and my goal is that by the end, you know enough to fly for free anywhere you want to go.

I think it's a big mistake to be a hub-captive. There's no reason that the credit cards you open have to be related to the dominant carrier at your airport.

Your life will be better if you instead open up the best card for the trip you want regardless of the airline that dominates your home airport.

Why should you ignore your hubby?

Imagine someone in Atlanta who wants to visit Buenos Aires.

Delta is the dominant carrier at ATL, and the only one with a direct flight to Buenos Aires.

I think it's a big mistake to be a hub-captive. There's no reason that the credit cards you open have to be related to the dominant carrier at your airport.

Your life will be better if you instead open up the best card for the trip you want regardless of the airline that dominates your home airport.

Why should you ignore your hubby?

Imagine someone in Atlanta who wants to visit Buenos Aires.

Delta is the dominant carrier at ATL, and the only one with a direct flight to Buenos Aires.

Long time reader Ken just blew my mind:

"No one in mentioning whether this looming merger will affect redemptions via BA. It seems this may be a great time to focus on Avios. With US Airways switching alliances, there should be more availibility for BA awards?

Any thoughts?"

It took me a bit to catch on, but then I understood: US Airways will join oneworld as part of its merger with American Airlines, but before the merger is completed. The current best guess is that US Airways joins oneworld on November 1, 2013.

Long time reader Ken just blew my mind:

"No one in mentioning whether this looming merger will affect redemptions via BA. It seems this may be a great time to focus on Avios. With US Airways switching alliances, there should be more availibility for BA awards?

Any thoughts?"

It took me a bit to catch on, but then I understood: US Airways will join oneworld as part of its merger with American Airlines, but before the merger is completed. The current best guess is that US Airways joins oneworld on November 1, 2013.