As the burden of airfare prices has grown with the recent high oil prices, travel demand is concentrating on nearby overseas routes such as Japan, China, and Taiwan. In the first quarter of this year, users of short-haul international routes increased by more than 2.63 million from a year earlier, accounting for most of the overall increase in international passengers.
According to the Aviation Information Portal System on the 26th, the number of users on short-haul overseas routes in the first quarter of this year totaled 14,384,773. That figure is up 22.4% from 11,750,308 in the same period last year. The increase came to 2,634,465.
The share of short-haul routes in total international passengers also grew. Total international passengers in the first quarter increased by about 2.77 million, from 23,281,762 last year to 26,052,983 this year. Of that, the increase in short-haul route users accounted for about 2.63 million, while the increase in long-haul routes was only about 140,000. Accordingly, the short-haul route share rose from 50.5% last year to 55.2% this year.
The share of short-haul routes is expected to expand further. With high oil prices persisting due to the recent Iran war, the burden of fuel surcharges added to airfares is growing. A fuel surcharge is an amount airlines add to fares to offset losses from rising oil prices, and each airline sets it monthly after its own adjustments under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport distance-proportional system.
The Singapore jet fuel average (MOPS) for March 16–April 15, which serves as the basis for calculating May fuel surcharges, was 511.21 cents per gallon and $214.71 per barrel. This corresponds to level 33, the highest of 33 levels. Level 33 applies when the price is at least 470 cents per gallon, and this is the first time it has been applied.
Domestic airlines plan to sharply raise the fuel surcharges attached to tickets purchased next month. An industry official said, "As the burden of airfare prices increases, travel demand is expected to concentrate more on short-haul routes to Japan, China, and Taiwan, where the expense burden is relatively lower than on long-haul routes."