TOKYO - Air travelers departing Japan for overseas destinations this summer will face record-high fuel surcharges after All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) announced significant increases for international tickets purchased in July and August, driven by soaring fuel prices linked to tensions in the Middle East.
Fuel surcharges are additional fees added to airfares to help airlines cope with sharp fluctuations in fuel costs. Both ANA and JAL currently impose the charges on international routes.
The airlines announced on June 13th that fuel surcharges for tickets issued in July and August will be raised across their international networks.
For flights from Japan to North America and Europe, both ANA and JAL will increase the surcharge from the current 56,000 yen to a record-high 65,000 yen per passenger on one-way journeys, an increase of 9,000 yen.
The increases also extend to shorter routes. ANA will raise the surcharge on flights to South Korea from 6,700 yen to 7,400 yen, while JAL will increase the charge from 6,500 yen to 7,400 yen. The revised rates mark record highs for those routes as well.
ANA said the new surcharge levels represent record highs across all of its international routes. JAL's revised charges are also at record levels on all but a small number of routes.
Fuel surcharges are calculated based on the average price of aviation fuel and foreign exchange rates over a two-month period. The latest increase reflects a sharp rise in fuel prices during April and May, the benchmark months used to determine surcharge levels for July and August.
The jump in fuel costs was attributed to worsening tensions in the Middle East, which pushed up crude oil and aviation fuel prices worldwide.
While fuel surcharges are currently applied mainly to international flights by Japanese carriers, ANA, JAL, and Skymark are also considering introducing similar charges on domestic routes, a move that could further increase travel costs for passengers within Japan.
Source: FNN
