Both Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways announced that the International Fare Fuel Surcharge will see a big drop on Jan. 1 — about a 34 percent decrease for those flying roundtrip between Japan and Hawai'i.

Industry officials said they hope the reduction will help boost the number of Japanese visitors to Hawai'i, which has been slumping in recent months.

The two airlines this week requested approval from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to decrease the fuel surcharge placed on all international passenger tickets issued for the three-month period starting Jan. 1.

The fuel surcharge, which had risen steadily over the past year, currently stands at $208 each way, or $416 roundtrip, for people flying between Japan and Hawai'i.

The proposed reduction would bring the surcharge down to $137 each way, or $274 roundtrip, a cut of 34 percent, according to JAL spokesman Stephen Pearlman.

The high fuel surcharges have been cited as a factor in a declining number of Japanese tourists flying to the Islands.

"We hope this decrease will help to stimulate tourist demand on the route," Pearlman said.

Japan Airlines noted that the drop was possible because the price of Singapore kerosene-type jet fuel averaged $115.92 in U.S. dollars per barrel from August through October.

This is substantially down from the average of $163.54 per barrel for the three-month period prior, he said.

The surcharge will be progressively reduced as the price of fuel decreases and will be eliminated when the price of Singapore kerosene stays below the benchmark of $60 U.S. dollars per barrel, Pearlman said.

The fuel surcharge applied to tickets issued from April to June 2009 will be reviewed based on the average price of fuel for November 2008 through January 2009.

JAL originally introduced the fuel surcharge on international tickets in February 2005 in response to a rise in the cost of jet fuel.