Flights to Japan are about to get cheaper for overseas tourists.

With the yen recently reaching historically weak lows, Japan has become an increasingly affordable destination for many overseas tourists. Now, visitors to Japan can have even more cash in their back pocket as ANA and JAL are set to reduce their fuel surcharges for international flights.

The two major Japanese airlines are expected to lower their fuel surcharges for tickets purchased in September and October, following several months of exceptionally high fees. These surcharges are typically added to international airfares to help airlines cover fluctuations in aviation fuel prices, and ANA and JAL revise their surcharges every two months, with the amount determined by fuel prices over the preceding two months.

The fluctuating prices can make a substantial difference to the price of airfares for passengers, as the surcharge is worked into the cost of the plane ticket. Fuel surcharges for ANA and JAL flights between Japan and Europe, North America, the Middle East and Oceania, rose to a record 65,000 yen (US$433) for tickets issued in July and August, up from 56,000 yen in May and June and 31,900 yen in March and April.

The incredibly high fees are largely due to a surge in aviation fuel prices following unrest in the Middle East, with the sharp increase eventually impacting the airlines’ surcharge calculations. The Japanese government’s emergency subsidy for aviation fuel, introduced in response to the Middle East situation, has now helped to ease costs, allowing the airlines to reduce charges for September and October.

While JAL is yet to release its official list of fuel surcharges for tickets issued from September through October, it has historically been on par with ANA, which updated its list of upcoming surcharges on 12 August. According to the update, for travellers flying between Japan and Europe, North America, the Middle East and Oceania, ANA’s surcharge will fall from 65,000 yen to 55,000 yen per person each way. That’s a saving of 10,000 yen each way, or 20,000 yen for a return trip.

Travellers from other parts of the world will also pay less, with surcharges on flights between Japan and Hawaii, India and Indonesia dropping from 40,400 yen to 35,800 yen, while flights to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar and Cambodia will fall from 33,500 yen to 27,300 yen. Flights to South Korea will be 900 yen cheaper at 6,500 yen, and flights to China and other destinations will be 1,100 yen cheaper at 14,300 yen.

As for other airlines, it’s too early to say whether they will also lower their fees. Fuel surcharges are set independently by each airline, so a reduction by ANA and JAL doesn’t necessarily indicate that other carriers will lower their own surcharges.

The new rates for ANA, and JAL if they follow suit as expected, are the cheapest they’ve been since 1 May. So if you’re thinking of booking a flight to Japan, you may want to hold off until 1 September, when the new fuel surcharges come into effect for tickets purchased from 1 September through 31 October.

Source: ANA, Nikkei, FNN via Yahoo! News Japan, Asahi Shimbun via Yahoo! News Japan
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2)
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