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Apply Now(at Amex's secure site)All Nippon Airways (ANA), one of the flag carriers of Japan, has decreased the fuel surcharges required on award tickets — a fantastic development that will impact redemptions to and from Japan on award reservations when flying ANA, and partner airlines that charge fuel surcharges.
When you redeem frequent flyer points for a ticket, the basic premise is that that ticket should come without cost (or very little cost) to the consumer, but airlines have found ways of adding on fees to these tickets in order to recoup some of the revenue that may be lost.
Fuel surcharges are a fee that many airlines add on tickets to cover the cost of fuel for your seat on the plane. However, in practice, these fuel surcharges may or may not actually be directly tied to the cost of fuel. For example, you may find the fuel amounts charged to you are well above what the actual cost of this fuel would be, and there’s no obligation for the airline to reduce this amount to match current costs.
British Airways is one of the most famous carriers to use fuel surcharges on tickets, and even if you use another frequent flyer program to book tickets, you’ll immediately be hit with several hundred dollars in extra costs that you might not have been anticipating. In fact, these fuel surcharges can sometimes be so high that a purchased cash ticket to your final destination might actually cost less than an award ticket.
As recently as October 2022, ANA increased fuel surcharges significantly from previous months, but the airline is now lowering those amounts.
For bookings that were made after October 1, 2022, up until March 31, 2023, the fuel surcharge for flights from Europe, North America (except for Hawaii), the Middle East, or Oceania to Japan was announced as $434 — nearly a 20% increase from previous changes. From Hawaii, India, or Indonesia to Japan, the fee was announced as $286, a ~24% increase.
Now, as identified by One Mile at a Time, ANA has published these significantly reduced rates:
Routes* | Tickets Purchased in the U.S. | Tickets Purchased in Europe** | Tickets Purchased in the U.K. |
Europe, North America (except for Hawaii), Middle East or Oceania to Japan | $259 | €239 | £205 |
Hawaii, India, or Indonesia to Japan | $166 | €153 | £132 |
Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, or Cambodia | $129 | €119 | £102 |
Vietnam, Guam, or the Philippines to Japan | $80 | €74 | £64 |
East Asia (excluding South Korea) to Japan | $68 | €63 | £54 |
South Korea or Russia (Vladivostok) to Japan | $25 | €23 | £20 |
* Not applicable for itineraries originating in Brazil
** Excluding the U.K.
Fuel surcharge changes by destination can be found on ANA’s Fare Rules page by clicking on the International Surcharge Info tab.
ANA is decreasing the cost of fuel surcharges, which is welcome news from previous increases. These fuel surcharges are an added expense on tickets that are otherwise meant to be of very little cost, so if you are traveling to Japan on an award, it will be nice to pay reduced surcharges on these tickets.
