Korean Air Fuel Surcharge Rises Oct 1: Fares Carry Up to $265

Korean Air’s fuel surcharge goes up again for international tickets issued from Thursday 1 October 2026. It moves to level 23 from level 21 in September, adding between 49,000 won and 362,600 won to each one-way ticket depending on distance, Korea JoongAng Daily reported. That is about $36 to $265 at the paper’s conversion.

The top rate applies to the long flights from Seoul Incheon to New York, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington and Toronto, according to the Seoul Economic Daily. Because the charge is set by the date a ticket is issued, not the date you fly, a booking made by 30 September still pays the lower September level.

If you are pricing a trip to Korea for later this year, the timing of the purchase now matters. Our earlier report on Korean Air and Asiana changes at Seattle in October covers another schedule shift the same month.

Level 23 Surcharge for Tickets Issued From 1 October

Korean Air will apply a level 23 fuel surcharge to international tickets issued from 1 October, two levels above September’s level 21, JoongAng Daily reports. The scale runs as high as level 33.

The Seoul Economic Daily says the level is based on the average price of Singapore jet fuel, known as MOPS, from 16 August to 15 September. That average was 377.54 cents a gallon, or $158.57 a barrel, up about 6.2 percent on the previous period. The surcharge rises one level for every 10 cent increase once the average passes 150 cents a gallon.

362,600 Won Each Way on North American Routes

On the longest routes, from Incheon to New York, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington and Toronto, the October charge is 362,600 won one way, up 8,600 won from September. JoongAng Daily puts that at about $265, and a round trip carries 725,200 won in fuel surcharges.

The paper notes the long-haul charge was 259,200 won one way in August, so it has risen by 103,400 won, or 39.9 percent, in two months. For a family of four on a round trip, it says, the fuel surcharges alone would pass 2.9 million won.

At the other end of the scale, flights of 500 miles or less, from Incheon to Fukuoka in Japan and to Qingdao, Dalian, Shenyang and Yanji in China, carry 49,000 won one way, up 1,000 won.

Oil Prices Reverse a Summer Decline

The surcharge peaked at level 33 in May, then fell to 27 in June, 19 in July and 14 in August, according to both reports. It rose again to 21 in September and now 23 in October.

The Seoul Economic Daily links the rise to the continuing war involving Iran and the shutdown of a key Saudi Arabian pipeline, and says the industry expects surcharges to keep rising through the second half of the year. That is a forecast, not a set price, and each month’s level is recalculated from later jet fuel prices.

How to Book Around the Increase

If you already know your dates, issuing the ticket by 30 September locks in the September level. That matters most for long-haul trips and for families, where the difference is multiplied by each ticket and each direction.

The reported amounts are in Korean won. If you buy outside South Korea, look for the carrier-imposed charge in the fare breakdown before you pay, and compare it with other airlines on the same route.