Qantas shares hardly moved yesterday after the airline boosted its fuel surcharge for a 5th time this financial year to where the extra cost is more than some domestic and international routes to NZ.

The shares were off one cent at $2.11 as investors pondered the impact of the continuing surge in fuel prices and the surcharge on passenger numbers.

There are fears the airline will join rivals Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand in reporting a loss for the six month to June 30.

The latest surcharge increases will also cut some international and domestic holiday travel by making the cheap fares on offer less attractive.

But we have yet to see a surcharge statement from Jetstar, which is where Qantas if focusing its discount counter to Virgin Blue and Tiger in the domestic market and a slew of cheap operators in the international markets in Asia.

In some cases, the Qantas surcharge is considerable, more than some of the cheap one-off fares on