Korean Air will open an Incheon-Melbourne route on Dec. 18, one day after completing its merger with Asiana Airlines, in an early sign of the network expansion and route restructuring it expects from the tie-up. The seasonal service will run through March 14 next year, operating three times a week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays with a Boeing 787-9. Korean Air is using the new service and planned schedule adjustments to strengthen its position on Oceania routes, where winter travel to Australia is a peak season and passenger demand is seen rising steadily. At the same time, travelers booking international flights from South Korea face higher September fuel surcharges as rising global oil prices feed into fares. Korean Air's surcharges will rise for the first time in four months, to 48,000 won to 354,000 won one-way from 35,200 won to 259,200 won, while Asiana's September international fuel surcharges rise seven tiers to level 21, ranging from 52,000 won to 290,100 won.