Airfares soar as airlines struggle to keep up with pent-up flight demand

Airlines are getting back on their feet under eased Covid-19 travel restrictions, but travelers face ascending airfares as travel demand rockets above flight supply. Airfares rose some 25% on average compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to the airline industry last Thursday. Korean Air Lines’ economy class round-trip ticket for Incheon-Beijing flights, including tax and fuel surcharge, ranged from 455,000 won to 838,000 won ($345 to $635) on April 1. For Incheon-Atlanta flights, fares ranged from 1.94m won to 5.21m won. Fewer than 10 seats were priced below 2m won. Round-trip flights to Osaka rise above 600,000 won during the weekends, which were usually below 400,000 won in 2019. Flights to Germany begin at 1.4m won, up from 1m in 2019. The fare hike also applies to domestic routes. A one-way ticket for Gimpo-Jeju flights during the weekend costs around 50,000 won in April. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Gimpo-Jeju flights charged half the current price. The slow recovery of supplies has contributed to the rising cost. Korean Air Lines currently operates a total of 622 flights per week, 33% short of the number of flights compared to April 2019. The number of flights to the Americas recovered to 94% of pre-pandemic figures, but trips to Japan linger at 60% and China at 45%. Low-cost carriers are also flying fewer domestic flights this year.<br/>