No fuel surcharge imposed on flights for another month

Korean airlines will not impose fuel surcharges on international routes in September amid a plunge in travel demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said Tuesday.

The surcharge for one-way tickets on international routes will stay at zero in September, unchanged from August, according to the sources.

Local air carriers' fuel surcharges on international routes will thus remain at zero for the sixth straight month, raising expectations that the zero rate may continue down the road.

If the average jet fuel price on the Singapore spot market rises over $1.50 per gallon, Korean airlines are allowed to impose fuel surcharges starting one month later.

If jet fuel prices drop below the threshold, no surcharge is collected. There are 10 levels of surcharges, depending on the length of the route.

Local air carriers will also apply no fuel surcharges on domestic routes in September for five months running due to the coronavirus fallout.

Analysts said the zero-rate surcharge is unlikely to have a positive impact on restoring air travel demand or increasing airlines' sales due to the prolonged coronavirus crisis.

The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have sent air travel plummeting, forcing Korean air carriers to suspend most of their international flights.

Yonhap