Reversed Prices
Overseas flights provided by Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are generally more expensive than those of foreign airlines, but the price gap is disappearing and even reversing in an increasing number of cases.
This is because Korea-based airlines, unlike the others, have cut their bunker adjustment factors (BAFs) to a large extent in the wake of the recent drop in oil prices.
For example, a round-trip plane ticket from Incheon to Paris departing on April 1 and returning on April 7 is available at 1.062 million won (US$967) at Korean Air, divided into a net fare of 931,200 won (US$848.67), 33,400 won (US$30.43) for BAF, and 95,600 won (US$87.11) for taxes. In contrast, the same trip is available at 1.243 million won (US$1,132.83) from Air France, including 818,400 won (US$745.87) in net fare, 328,000 won (US$298.93) in BAF, and 96,600 won (US$88.04) in taxes.
In addition, the ticket is effective for three months at Korean Air but just one month in Air France. The longer the available period, the more expensive the ticket becomes.