Booking Flight Tickets in August is Better as Fuel Surcharges Rise

[Anchor]

It is Wednesday, time for "Friendly Economy" with reporter Han Jiyeon. Han, is it better to buy airline tickets within this month if possible?

[Reporter]

Starting with tickets issued next month, international fuel surcharges will jump by seven tiers compared to now.

Anyone planning an overseas trip for September or early October definitely needs to listen to this.

Fuel surcharges, which are added to airfares based on rising fuel costs, will spike starting next month.

While it is currently set at tier 14 this August, it will jump straight to tier 21 in September, a sudden increase of seven tiers.

This is the highest level since last June.

Looking at how the difference varies by distance:

For long-haul routes from Incheon to destinations like New York, Chicago, and Toronto, the one-way fuel surcharge will rise from 259,200 KRW to 354,000 KRW.

This is a 94,800 KRW increase, or 36.6%. For a round trip, it means an extra burden of nearly 190,000 KRW.

Shorter routes like Fukuoka and Shanghai will also see an increase of over 36%, rising from 35,000 KRW (Note: 35,200 KRW in the original text) for a one-way ticket to 48,000 KRW.

The specific amounts mentioned are based on Korean Air.

While tier 21 is a common standard, the actual added amount varies by airline.

Here is the crucial point: these fuel surcharges are determined not by "when you fly," but by "when you purchase the ticket."

Therefore, even if your trip is scheduled for later, if you purchase your ticket within this month, you can apply the current tier 14 rates.

For those with travel plans, solely considering the fuel surcharge, it is advantageous to issue your tickets within this month.

[Anchor]

As the war in Iran seems to be dragging on continuously, oil prices have quietly crept back up.

[Reporter]

Singapore aviation fuel prices, which served as the basis for calculating this fuel surcharge, surged by 25% within a single month.

The fuel surcharge had skyrocketed to tier 33—an all-time high—last May, before coming down for three consecutive months to tier 27 in June, tier 19 in July, and tier 14 in August.

However, as aviation fuel prices rebounded in the wake of the Middle East conflict, this downward trend has been broken.

The fuel surcharge is determined by taking the average price of Singapore aviation fuel for exactly one month—from the 16th of the month before last to the 15th of the previous month—and using it to set the tier for the following month.

This time, the average price from July 16 to the 15th of this month was 149.29 USD per barrel. In the immediately preceding calculation period, it was around 119 USD, marking a jump of more than 30 USD, or 25.4%.

Consequently, this surge has been fully reflected in tickets issued for September.

One good thing to keep in mind is that due to this calculation method, even if oil prices rise now, the impact is reflected in fuel surcharges one to two months later.

Therefore, if you plan to issue tickets next month, it helps to check the airlines' notices released around the middle of each month.

For instance, the September fuel surcharge was announced yesterday (the 18th).

This month's rate was announced on the 16th of last month.

[Anchor]

Lastly, we have news on apartment prices in Seoul.

[Reporter]

While the Gangnam areas, where regulations have been tightened, are showing a lull, demand is shifting toward areas with less price burden, keeping Seoul's upward trend going in August as well.

According to the housing price trend figures released by the Korea Real Estate Board for July:

Housing sales prices in Seoul rose by 1.09% compared to the previous month, marking an expansion in the upward momentum for the fourth consecutive month.

As loan regulations on the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu were tightened, relatively less burdensome areas such as Seongbuk-gu and Nowon-gu led the upward trend.

This trend continues into this month.

Looking at the weekly statistics released by the Korea Real Estate Board since the beginning of August, regional temperature differences are becoming even more pronounced.

After the government announced a tax revision plan on the 3rd to increase the tax burden on high-priced homes, a wait-and-see attitude among buyers has deepened, centered around the Gangnam area.

Seocho-gu and Gangnam-gu simultaneously turned downward for the first time in 16 weeks and 14 weeks, respectively.

On the other hand, while apartment prices across Seoul as a whole continue to rise, areas like Jungrang-gu and Seongbuk-gu maintain their strong momentum.

Ultimately, rather than the entire city of Seoul rising all at once, demand is shifting according to tax and loan regulations, changing which regions are seeing price increases.

Jeonse and monthly rent prices are also continuing to rise across Seoul.

In July, jeonse prices went up by 1.03% and monthly rent by 0.94%.

However, the pace of increase for both narrowed slightly compared to the previous month.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.