British Airways is to increase its fuel surcharge on tickets issued in Britain from Monday because of further oil price rises, it said yesterday.

The fuel surcharge on longhaul tickets sold and issued in Britain will rise to £24 from £16, while the shorthaul surcharge will go up to £8 from £6, BA said, adding it was still in discussions about other markets.

"The continuing rise in global oil prices to almost $60 a barrel means a further surcharge increase is regrettably unavoidable," BA commercial director Martin George said.

Europe's two biggest low-cost airlines - Ireland's Ryanair Holdings and easyJet - both said they would not introduce surcharges. Both try to absorb oil price rises into their costs to keep fares low.

Oil prices rose to touch $60 a barrel for a second day yesterday, extending a run of record highs that have yet to curb robust US energy demand.

US crude futures traded up 30 cents to $59.72 a barrel, having twice reached a peak of $60 to match Thursday's record - the highest since the New York Mercantile Exchange began trading oil in 1983. London Brent crude rose 26 cents to $58.22 a barrel.

Rising demand from the United States, China and India have caught world producers and refiners off guard, leaving little spare capacity in the event of a supply disruption.

BA forecast a fuel bill for its 2005/06 financial year of around £1.6 billion, some £450 million higher than in 2004/05.

"Total revenue for the year to March 2006 is now expected to improve by 4.5 to 5.5 per cent, up from the four to five per cent figure issued at the airline's full-year results on May 13, due to the impact of these latest fuel surcharges," BA said.

BA shares, which had underperformed British transport sector peers by 10 per cent over the past 12 months, were down 2.2 per cent at 273 pence by 0900 GMT to value the business at £3.0 billion.

BA said its additional fuel surcharge only applies to tickets issued from Monday and does not apply to tickets already paid for and issued.