Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) are expected to increase fuel surcharges up to double their current rates on international flights starting with June bookings due to the ongoing conflict in Iran.?
Fuel surcharges are extra costs that are added to airfares in order for customers to cover a portion of the fuel costs. Given the fluctuating nature of oil prices, the surcharges are collected separately from the rest of the airfare and vary depending on the market price of fuel at the time.?
The amount customers are required to pay for fuel surcharges is determined two months at a time and announced two months in advance by JAL and ANA. They are calculated based on the average price that kerosene ¡ª fuel that is used to fly planes ¡ª had been traded in the Singapore market in the two months leading up to the confirmation of the cost, in addition to the average price of yen in U.S. dollars during the same period.?
Using the numbers from February and March, fuel surcharges for bookings starting in June are expected to be ?55,000 at ANA and ?50,000 at JAL for flights from Japan to regions such as Europe, the Americas and Oceania. This is nearly double the current charge, which is ?31,900 and ?29,000 at the respective airlines.?
Cost hikes are seen in shorter travels as well, with what was ?9,400 at ANA and ?7,400 at JAL to travel to destinations in East Asia such as China and Taiwan increasing to ?14,300 and ?12,400, respectively. The fuel surcharge was only around ?3,000 for travel to South Korea and the nearby Russian city of Vladivostok on both airlines but this will also double to around ?6,000.
Many of the low-cost carriers such as Zipair and Jetstar do not impose fuel surcharges on passengers. However, there is a possibility that overall airfares might increase in the future.
Outside of Japan, some international airlines have already raised their fuel surcharges. For example, Cathay Pacific, an air carrier based in Hong Kong, has increased the surcharge for flights between Japan and the U.S. from what was $72.90 to $149.20 as of March. 18.?
The significant price hikes come as the U.S. and Israel¡¯s war with Iran has put an immense strain on the global oil market, with airlines scrambling to adjust to rising jet fuel prices.?
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