Fuel surcharges on domestic airline tickets are soaring as international oil prices spike in the wake of the Middle East conflict. Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have sharply raised fuel surcharges on domestic routes for May from 7,700 won to 34,100 won.
Korean Air announced on its website on the 6th that it will raise one-way domestic fuel surcharges for May tickets to approximately 4.4 times the previous month's level. Fuel surcharges, which are included in ticket prices along with fares and airport usage fees, are assessed based on the ticketing date, reflecting monthly changes in the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) jet fuel price.
The situation for international routes is even more severe. International fuel surcharges, calculated based on the average oil price from the 16th of two months prior to the 15th of the previous month, were set at 326.71 cents per gallon for April (February 16 to March 15), placing them at tier 18. This represents a vertical jump of 12 tiers in just one month from tier 6 the previous month — the largest single increase since the current fuel surcharge system was introduced in 2016.
Domestic carriers are charging up to three times more for international fuel surcharges this month. Korean Air raised its one-way surcharges from 13,500 won to 99,000 won last month to 42,000 won to 303,000 won this month. Long-haul routes from Incheon to New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington and Toronto now carry surcharges of 303,000 won, a 3.1-fold increase.
On a round-trip basis, surcharges alone now reach up to 606,000 won, meaning passengers face an additional 408,000 won in costs compared to last month. Asiana Airlines also raised its surcharges from 14,600 won to 78,600 won in March to 43,900 won to 251,900 won this month.
With the calculation period for May international fuel surcharges (March 16 to April 15) coinciding with the recent sharp rise in oil prices, concerns are growing inside and outside the industry that surcharges could reach tier 33 — the highest level ever — for the first time.
As surging ticket costs become a foregone conclusion, consumers are moving quickly. Since fuel surcharges are assessed based on the ticketing date rather than the travel date, demand for so-called "advance ticketing" is rising as travelers rush to purchase tickets this month while relatively lower tiers still apply. The calculation is that avoiding the imminent surcharge spike is more advantageous even when factoring in the risk of cancellation fees for future schedule changes.
Meanwhile, low-cost carriers including Jeju Air and T'way Air are expected to finalize and announce their May fuel surcharges within the coming days.