With a sharp increase in aviation fuel surcharges set to take effect next month, Korea's travel industry is ramping up "advance ticketing" marketing campaigns to capture long-haul travel demand. As higher airfare prices become imminent, travel agencies are pushing to sell existing package products by moving up the ticketing timeline as far as possible.
Major travel agencies including Norang Pungson and Hana Tour are actively encouraging customers to secure advance tickets for long-haul package products, industry sources said Wednesday. With international oil prices surging due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, aviation fuel surcharges are scheduled to rise starting in April. The agencies are urging travelers to complete ticketing before the increase takes effect. Since fuel surcharges are calculated based on the date of ticketing rather than the date of departure, travelers departing in April or May can still lock in current surcharge rates by purchasing tickets this month.
Norang Pungson is running a "last chance" promotion through the end of this month, focusing on packages to Europe, the Americas and Australia. Hana Tour is also proceeding with advance ticketing this month for May departures with customer consent. This represents an unusual move, accelerating the process by more than two months compared to standard industry practice.
The average price of Singapore jet fuel (MOPS) surged from tier 6 to tier 18 within one month, marking the steepest increase since 2022. As a result, international fuel surcharges applied to tickets issued from April 1 are expected to rise two to three times compared to the previous month. Based on Korean Air's rates, the fuel surcharge for long-haul routes reaches up to 300,000 won ($220) per one-way trip, or approximately 600,000 won per person round-trip. For a family of four, the total surcharge exceeds 2 million won.
However, applying advance ticketing is not straightforward for package products. Because packages involve groups departing together on the same itinerary, it is difficult to extend advance ticketing benefits to only some customers. Travel agencies are therefore encouraging sales by filling entire departure groups quickly to issue tickets under uniform conditions. Some agencies are also reaching out to existing reservation holders in advance to confirm their willingness to proceed with early ticketing.
Confusion is not uncommon in the field. When customers request advance ticketing on their own, conflicts with airline-specific ticketing rules have arisen. Advance ticketing policies vary depending on the route and whether a foreign carrier is involved, leading to inconsistent outcomes even within the same product.
"Demand to move up booking timelines has clearly increased as the burden of rising airfares becomes more tangible due to higher oil prices," an industry official said. "Travel agencies are also strengthening their strategy of accelerating ticketing for existing products in line with this trend."