"If You Booked This Month, You Almost Lost Out... Why You Should Wait Until 'This Day' Before Paying for Flight Tickets"

Temporary Optimism Over US-Iran Negotiations
Brief Decline in Global Oil Prices Influences Airfare

International airfare prices, which had previously dampened travel demand, will see a slight decrease starting next month.

Korean Air passenger plane taking off from Incheon Airport. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the industry on May 18, from June 1, the 27th level of fuel surcharge will be applied to international air tickets. This is six levels lower than the 33rd level that was applied in May.

This change is due to a drop in the average cost of Singapore jet fuel (MOPS), which serves as the standard for fuel surcharges. For the period from April 16 to May 15, it averaged 410.02 cents per gallon, down from 511.21 cents per gallon recorded between March 16 and April 15.

This decline appears to have been influenced by a temporary decrease in international oil prices, which resulted from heightened expectations for negotiations between the United States and Iran and the brief resumption of passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

The fuel surcharge is an additional amount added to the airfare by airlines to compensate for losses caused by rising oil prices. It is set monthly by each airline after individual adjustments, in accordance with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's distance-based system.

Korean Air plans to charge between a minimum of 61,500 won and a maximum of 451,500 won per one-way international ticket next month. Last month, the range was from 75,000 won to 564,000 won.

The minimum surcharge will apply to shorter routes such as Incheon-Shenyang and Incheon-Fukuoka, while the maximum surcharge will apply to the longest routes, including Incheon-New York and Incheon-Toronto.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.