Summer airfares are expected to fall slightly as fuel surcharges will drop again next month. The aviation industry on Sunday set the fuel surcharge rate on international routes for August lower than for July and the lowest level this year.

Fuel surcharges will fall another 8-9 percent in August after already dropping about 19 percent in July.

The average fuel surcharge on a round trip to and from the U.S. will then be US$244, down $22 from July. Fuel surcharges for round trips to Europe and Africa will fall from $256 to $234. The surcharge on flights to Oceania and the Middle East will drop from $218 to $200.

The surcharge on flights to Japan will drop by $4 to $40, and to China and Northeast Asia by $6 to $70. The surcharge on one-way domestic flights will fall by W1,100 from W12,100 to W11,000 in August (US$1=W1,151).

The new surcharges will be effective for tickets issued next month. They are adjusted every month by the average Mean of Platts Singapore trade prices but applied based not on departure dates but on the moment tickets are issued.