South Korean air carriers will cut back fuel surcharges for international flights in May in line with the recent fall in jet oil prices, industry sources said Thursday.
The country’s two flagship carriers — Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc. — will lower the surcharge to $15 for one-way flights to the United States next month, down from the current $27.
The additional fees on flights bound for Europe and Southeast Asia will be cut to $15 and $6 each in May, from $26 and $10, respectively, according to the sources. Those for flights to China and Northeast Asia will be also reduced to $5 from $8.
Domestic flights, however, will be priced at the current level with the same surcharge of 3,300 won ($3.03) per flight.
The surcharge system, set by the government, allows air carriers to adjust the extra fees for international and domestic routes each month in tandem with the average price of fuel traded via Singapore’s spot market in the previous month.
The average price of jet fuel hovered at $1.64 per gallon between March 16 and April 15, slightly down from the $1.75 tallied in the Feb. 16-March 15 period. (Yonhap)
