By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

Hit by relentlessly soaring jet fuel costs, airlines are carrying through rationalization of flight operations and routes. Unable to raise airfares more, airlines are curtailing service frequency or replacing big aircrafts with smaller fuel-efficient ones.

Low demand routes are to be the first victim of rationalization by airline companies keen to eliminate loss-making sectors.

Korean Air recently decided to cut its number of operations and employ smaller aircraft between the low season months of June and mid-July.

Routes affected by the cut back in frequency include Incheon-Guam, Incheon-Cebu, Incheon-Siem Reap, Incheon-Jinan, Incheon-Tianjin, Incheon-Oita, Incheon-Las Vegas, Incheon-Dallas, and Daegu-Bangkok.

Furthermore, some routes will be suspended temporarily; these include flights between Busan and Xi'an, Busan and Hanoi, Cheongju and Shanghai, Incheon and Sanya, and Daegu and Beijing.

Smaller planes will be used for flights between Incheon-Manila, Incheon-Beijing, Incheon-Chiang Mai, and Incheon-Bangkok.

These changes are likely to occur at different times, therefore, travelers are advised to check information displayed on the company's Web site.

Steps to Stop Bleeding

Korean Air also plans to reschedule operations for cargo, as well as hedging fuel purchases. Its labor union, acknowledging the difficult situation, entrusted the right to decide the wage increase rate to management in March.

Asiana Airlines also rescheduled operations, cutting and suspending services.

For five low demand routes to China, the airline will reduce the number of services. The routes are Incheon-Changsha, Incheon-Chengdu, Incheon-Nanjing, Incheon-Changchun, and Incheon-Tianjin.

Services between Incheon and Chongqing will be grounded from June 24 through Oct. 25.

Reserve flights will instead be put on high-demand routes during summer vacation season. The number of operations for the Incheon-Asahikawa, Incheon-Fukushima, Incheon-Clark, and Incheon-Dalian routes will increase, while a new service will be launched on the routes between Busan and Yantai and Incheon and Laoag.

The carrier is receiving applications from workers for unpaid leave of absence in a bid to cut labor costs.

The two airlines also requested the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs to increase the ceiling of fuel surcharges.

Fuel surcharges are additional fees that airlines add in accordance with jet fuel price increases. Korean airlines can charge the extra fees, choosing from one of 16 levels according to the ratio of oil price increases. They are currently applying the highest level.

They asked the government to raise the upper limit and increase the number of levels from 16 to 20. The government is considering the change, a ministry official said.

Korean Air said Thursday that it also decided to charge a fuel fee for domestic flights starting July. The carrier said it has already seen more than 30 billion won ($30 million) in losses for domestic operations for the first five months of this year.

The charges will be set every two months, and the charge for July and August will be 15,400 won for a one-way ticket. For instance, the charge will increase the airfare for the Seoul-Jeju routes to 103,800 won from the current 88,400 won.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr