Fuel Surcharge to Increase Again from December… What Airlines Have No Surcharge?
Weak Yen, Ukraine Situation…Airline Tickets Remain High
Many people, especially recently, are concerned about fuel surcharges when buying international airline tickets. The official name for the fuel surcharge is the fuel surcharge, which is added in addition to the normal fare. The amount of the fuel surcharge increases or decreases depending on the base price of crude oil.
That fuel surcharge has continued to rise after Corona.’ After peaking in the fall of 2010, the surcharge temporarily dropped, but it will rise again starting with tickets issued this December, and it will weigh heavily on travel costs.
However, not all airlines impose fuel surcharges. Some include fuel surcharges in the fare from the beginning, while others do not require them. Some airlines charge fuel surcharges separately for award tickets, and some do not.
Fuel surcharges are higher than fares! Disadvantageous reasons for Japan residents other than war conditions
In the case of ANA, fuel surcharges were waived for about a year from April 2008, but have since increased. For tickets issued from October to November 2010, it reached 6,700 (Korea) to 5,800 yen (Europe, US, and Australia). It then dropped a little, and for tickets issued in October-November ’23, it was 3000-29,000 yen, and for December to January ’24, it increased again to 5000-41,000 yen.
All of these are per one-way trip, so a round-trip trip would be twice as much. Even if the round-trip fare is about 100,000 yen, the fuel surcharge alone adds about 100,000 yen to the round-trip fare, which brings the total amount paid for the ticket up to 200,000 yen.
The recent rise in oil prices is not unrelated to the situation in Russia and Ukraine, as well as the recent ongoing tensions in the Middle East. For residents in Japan, there is also the impact of the weak yen.
Are airlines that “do not charge” fuel surcharges really a good deal?
Some airlines do not charge fuel surcharges. Among full-service carriers (FSCs), these includeSingapore Airlines,QatarAirways, and Qantas Airways. Their fuel surcharges are included in the fare in advance.
In the case of Singapore Airlines, the lowest fare from Tokyo to Singapore in January 2012 was 79590 yen round-trip, and 254230 yen round-trip during the year-end and New Year holidays. Fuel surcharges and taxes are included. On the other hand, a search on ANA’s official website shows a round-trip price of approximately 300,000 yen. The fuel surcharge is 31,000 yen round trip. On ANA’s official website, the lowest price available is 100,000 yen round-trip (including fuel surcharge).
When the author flew between Japan and Europe in June 2011, he purchased a connecting flight on Qatar Airways for a total of 180,000 yen. At that time, connecting flights to Europe cost 250,000-300,000 yen, while direct flights cost about 400,000 yen. The reason why the fare was less expensive than other airlines was probably because it included fuel. At that time, business people who flew between Japan and Europe often heard that “Qatar Airways was the airline of choice.
So, it is difficult to say whether fuel-inclusive fares are a good deal. Whether it is expensive or inexpensive should be judged by the total amount paid. Many people in the travel industry and frequent flyers say that “Singapore Airlines is expensive to begin with (even with fuel included). However, there are still times when it is possible to get a discount fare on sale.
