Virgin says surcharges don't cover costs

Virgin Australia says its credit card surcharges do not cover costs but it will work with the outcome of a Senate hearing into card costs.

Consumer advocates have told a Senate committee that Virgin's markup was 412 per cent above the average for a $185 ticket.

"Obviously we'll work with whatever the outcome of the deliberations are but it is important to point out in terms of cost recovery in credit card surcharging and booking handling we are still under recovery," Virgin chief executive John Borghetti told reporters in Perth on Friday.