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Martin George, British Airways' commercial director, said: "Our fuel costs remain a real burden.  The price of oil has risen above $70 a barrel and experts anticipate it staying at these levels for some time.  "Our annual fuel bill for 2005/2006 is expected to be some £1.6 billion.  We estimated previously that this would rise by £400million in 2006/2007 but at these prices, we would now expect this year's fuel bill to be £600 million higher at £2.2 billion. "This latest fuel surcharge rise is very regrettable but we have little choice to pass some of our extra costs on to our customers.   Fuel is our second largest cost after employee costs.  "We believe that it is better to be transparent with our customers by showing the level of fuel surcharge they are paying rather than hide the costs by raising fares behind the scenes like some other airlines choose to do.  This approach would enable us to reduce the surcharge should fuel prices fall over time."The additional fuel surcharge only applies to tickets issued from Friday April 21, 2006. It does not apply to tickets already paid for and issued.British Airways will look to increase its fuel surcharges to similar levels on longhaul flights sold in overseas markets.Source: Press Release