Fuel surcharges are going up for airlines across the world and the Japanese carriers are no exception as they increase award rates.

Japan Airlines (JAL) increases fuel surcharges on award tickets

Between May 1 and June 30, 2026, JAL will be increasing fuel surcharges on award tickets as follows:

Put simply, this is ugly. The lowest increase is 91% above the current levels. The highest increase is 117% above current levels. There’s no way to put this as something we should be happy about, but that’s not to say that JAL didn’t try. They showed what the fuel surcharge would have been if not for some minor subsidization from the Japanese government. So yeah, instead of a 103% increase, it’s only 91%.

One thing I’ll give credit to JAL for doing is lining out the old and new rates to make it clear on what’s changing.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) also increases fuel surcharges on award tickets

Also between May 1 and June 30, 2026, ANA will be increasing fuel surcharges to the following levels originating in Japan:

And the following for itineraries originating outside of Japan, which are shown in USD:

Let’s instead list this in a way that’s easier to see the changes from previous:

On a percentage basis, the increases when originating in Japan are less than what JAL’s increases are, but those increases outside of Japan are brutal. There is verbiage on ANA’s site that tries to explain these are after the Japanese government’s subsidization of fuel surcharges, but the case isn’t as compelling as with JAL’s argument.

It’s all part of a worldwide trend

We’re not going to get into the politics underlying the fuel supply issues in the Middle East. All we’ll say is the blockade caused significant turmoil to the stability of oil prices, including the price of jet fuel. I don’t think it’s illogical to think that an increase in fuel prices leads to an increase in fuel surcharges. It seems understandable and also unfortunate.

That seems to be playing out not just with cash fares but also with award fares. Airlines like Virgin Atlantic and Air France spiked award cash copays directly tied to the blockade. However, practically all airlines are increasing rates short-term due to supply chain issues. What’s not clear is exactly how long this issue will persist.

The one place where we’ll give the Japanese airlines credit is saying that the fuel surcharge increase on award fares has an end date. Yes, it could be extended as needed, but having any indication it’s meant to be a short-term issue is welcome. Would you rather want what Virgin Atlantic did and not announce an increase nor promise any return to prior pricing? No, we don’t want that. In fact, the worst offender seems to be United Airlines, which admits it wants to keep prices high even after the supply issues are over:

“Certainly, the longer this lasts, the higher the probability goes that the pricing increases hold. And we probably won’t hold 100% if we normalize as I told the team earlier today, and it’s just my guess that if things went back to mid-February normal, I think we get to keep 20% of the price increase next year. I think that’s going to move towards 80%. And every day, it’s ticking up longer as this goes on.”

Perhaps United believes monopolistic pricing is in play or the demand curve is inelastic enough to not impact demand. It’s a bit of an optimistic statement for United to make, but it was during their earnings call, so I don’t necessarily think it’s something they will adhere to. They’re just trying to protect investors from selling the stock over long-term outlook concerns.

And to those thinking that United doesn’t charge members fuel surcharges on award flights, remember that while there is no cash copay, United charges non-saver rates to its own members that correlate with the cash price.

Ready to pay more for airfare?

Suggested reading:

• Why You Need to Collect JAL Miles
• Why You Need to Collect ANA Miles
• How to Book Award Travel Like a Pro