Demand for overseas travel is rapidly shifting toward short-haul routes such as Japan, China and Taiwan as airfares surge on the back of high oil prices. While long-haul routes have essentially stagnated, short-haul passenger numbers have soared, clearly reshaping the travel landscape.
According to the Air Portal System on Wednesday, passengers on overseas short-haul routes totaled 14,384,773 in the first quarter of this year. That represents a 22.4% increase from 11,750,308 in the same period last year, with 2,634,465 more travelers in just one year.
Total international passengers rose by about 2.77 million over the same period, from 23,281,762 to 26,052,983. Most of the increase came from short-haul routes, while long-haul passenger numbers rose by only about 140,000.
As a result, short-haul routes' share of total overseas travel rose to 55.2% this year from 50.5% last year. More than half of all overseas travelers chose nearby destinations such as Japan and China.
The same trend is reflected in airline earnings. Korean Air's first-quarter passenger revenue on Japanese routes rose 12% year-on-year, while Chinese routes climbed 19%. Asiana Airlines also saw load factors on Japanese routes rise 9 percentage points, with Chinese routes up 12 percentage points.
Low-cost carrier (LCC) passengers also grew sharply. Jeju Air's passengers on Japanese routes reached 1,233,400, up more than 300,000 from a year earlier. Chinese route passengers rose to 134,700 from 100,600. Jin Air and T'way Air also recorded increases of about 140,000 and 360,000, respectively, on Japanese routes.
The change is tangible on the ground. An office worker surnamed A said, "Fuel surcharges have risen so much that for the price of a trip to Europe, I could go to Japan three times." He added, "With affordable prices and almost no time difference, I chose Japan travel because it puts less strain on me physically."
Behind this shift lies the sharp rise in fuel surcharges. A fuel surcharge is an additional fee airlines impose on fares to offset rising oil costs, applied differentially based on route distance. The longer the distance, the greater the burden.
Notably, the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) jet fuel price, which serves as the basis for May fuel surcharges, averaged 511.21 cents per gallon from March 16 to April 15 this year. That corresponds to the highest level in the 33-tier system, and it marks the first time this tier has been applied.
As a result, the burden of airfares is expected to grow further. Korean Air will charge fuel surcharges ranging from a minimum of 75,000 won to a maximum of 564,000 won one-way on tickets issued next month. That is a significant increase from this month's range of 42,000 won to 303,000 won.
The industry expects the short-haul-focused travel trend to strengthen further if high oil prices persist. Fuel surcharges are significantly driving up long-haul airfares, making consumers more likely to choose routes with a relatively lower burden.
"The recent shift in travel demand toward short-haul destinations such as Japan is clear," an aviation industry official said. "As rising oil prices are fully reflected in airfares, this trend will strengthen further."
