Lufthansa Group announced that its airlines on April 1 will switch to a single, standardized ticket surcharge

for complete journeys, replacing a scheme that surcharged each flight segment separately. Consisting of Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, the group said it also will reduce from nine to six the number of geographic zones used for calculating surcharges. Long-haul journeys will be surcharged at €80 to €200 in each direction for economy-class tickets and €100 to €250 for premium-class tickets. On flights within Europe, surcharges for the first time will be differentiated according to cabin, with economy-class tickets incurring a €43 surcharge and business class €50. A Lufthansa spokesperson said the surcharges cover "costs we cannot, or can only slightly, influence," namely those related to fuel, security, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, insurance and air traffic control fees.