With Japan likely on any traveler's 2026 destination list, you might want to pay attention to the following information.

Starting May 1, 2026, Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) will implement a major jump in their fuel surcharges on flights flying to and from North American destinations. In other words, the price difference between booking your tickets prior to or after this date could be several hundreds of dollars. So, let's go straight to the numbers.

How Much More Will You Be Paying?

Before jumping straight into numbers, I need to emphasize that this is going to be a noticeable increase. The reason why you need to pay closer attention to this particular information is that the difference between current and upcoming fuel surcharges will be quite steep.

Travelers booking tickets with ANA and JAL on flights between Japan and North America (including the United States, Canada, and Mexico), will have to pay approximately $180 one-way fuel surcharges. After May 1, 2026, the number will jump up to around $350 one way almost 95%. It does not matter if you are going to pay for your flight directly or will be redeeming rewards; the extra sum will still have to be added to your budget.

As an example, you might want to look at the following figures regarding ANA business class award redemptions:

• Current fuel surcharge: 29,000 yen (approximately $190)
• May 1, 2026: 56,000 yen (approximately $365)

The bottom line is: on a round-trip itinerary to Japan (or from Japan), you will pay about $350 more regardless of the number of reward miles used. For award travelers trying to avoid additional expenditures when booking a flight, this will certainly add to the total expenses related to travel.

Reasons Behind the Increase

According to the airlines, the increase in fuel surcharges on Japan-North America flights was caused by increased aviation fuel costs and insurance expenses. The Japanese government made an attempt to soften the blow for customers through subsidies, but even with them in place, the current fees are quite high compared to others.

However, you need to pay close attention to one detail, namely the fact that this surcharge increase is considered a temporary one. The increased surcharges will stay in place until June 30, 2026. Should the conditions get better before the specified date, fuel surcharges may drop back to normal levels starting July 1.

Affected Routes and Passengers

It is important to understand that the increase will affect ALL international flights between Japan and any other country or state, as well as codeshare flights operated on the flights operated by partner airlines under JAL and ANA flight numbers. In case if you have been planning your travels with JAL or ANA in mind, the increased surcharge is something that should be taken into consideration.

Award travelers, in particular, need to keep in mind the fact that the surcharges are charged on top of regular prices for international awards, even if these flights are booked using accumulated miles. As mentioned above, fuel surcharges can seriously reduce the benefit of the booking.

ANA and JAL are quite popular partners for earning points in various frequent flyer programs, including Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, United MileagePlus, American AAdvantage, and many others. In case if you had been accumulating miles with specific flights to Japan in mind, you might want to make sure that you account for surcharges when booking a reward.

Practical Recommendations on What to Do Next

If you have any plans on traveling to Japan in 2026, booking your flights prior to May 1, 2026, will allow you to enjoy lower fuel surcharges. In order to take advantage of such an opportunity, there are several things you need to keep in mind.

Verify your travel dates. Make sure that the dates are fixed and that booking a flight now will bring actual benefits instead of expenses related to changing or canceling a ticket. Check your itinerary to find out whether or not the flight has codeshare segments under JAL/ANA flight numbers.

If you are thinking about earning miles to use for booking your future flight, you need to know the exact amount of fuel surcharge. Depending on the program you are working with, the fees may be displayed differently during booking. In case if you are planning to travel in July or August, there is a possibility that the fuel surcharges would be back to normal.

Saving Money: Why Is It Important?

As we discussed above, the increase in surcharges will be relatively steep, especially since there is a possibility that these surcharges will remain on the higher side for a while. Therefore, if you have been earning miles with the intention to fly with JAL or ANA at some point, you should pay attention to booking your tickets early.

As far as numbers are concerned, the difference could be quite serious if you are booking an award for two travelers on the business class route. For example, if you are planning a round-trip itinerary, you would have to pay around $700 more for the award. Such an amount equals the cost of a night at a hotel, a single domestic flight, or several more thousands of miles.

Conclusion

Sometimes, airlines decide to increase fuel surcharges quite unexpectedly. In the case we are discussing, you only have a month left till this decision takes effect. Booking your ticket prior to May 1, 2026, will allow you to save money.

Although this particular decision is going to be temporary for the next 2 months, there is no guarantee that the rates will drop significantly after that time. Therefore, it might be a good idea to plan your itinerary ahead.