April 10 (Reuters) – A surge in jet fuel prices driven by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has upended the global aviation industry, forcing airlines to raise fares and revise financial outlooks.
Jet fuel prices have soared from $85 to $90 per barrel to $150 to $200 per barrel in recent weeks, a financial hit for an industry where fuel accounts for up to a quarter of operating expenses.
Below is a list of how airlines are responding, in alphabetical order:
AEGEAN AIRLINES
The Greek airline expects suspended Middle East flights and a spike in fuel prices to have a “notable impact” on its first-quarter results.
AIRASIA X
The Malaysian airline’s executives said the company had cut 10% of flights across the group, with a surcharge of about 20% on fuel in general.
AIR FRANCE-KLM
The airline group said it planned to increase long-haul ticket prices to address surging fuel costs, with cabin fares set to rise by 50 euros ($58) per round trip.
AIR INDIA
The Indian flag carrier said it would revise its fuel surcharge from a flat domestic surcharge to a distance-based grid. It said surcharges on international routes did not compensate for the exponential rise in jet fuel prices.
AIR NEW ZEALAND
The airline said on April 7 it would slash flights through May and June and hike fares, having been one of the first to announce broad increases to ticket prices when the conflict broke out. It also suspended its full-year earnings forecast due to fuel market volatility.
AKASA AIR
India’s Akasa Air said it was introducing a fuel surcharge ranging between 199 and 1,300 Indian rupees ($2 to $14) on domestic and international flights.
ALASKA AIR
The U.S. airline said it would increase fees for the first checked bag by $5 and by $10 for the second on its North American flights, as well as for its Hawaiian Airlines unit. It hiked prices for a third checked bag from $50 to $200.
AMERICAN AIRLINES
The U.S. carrier said it would hike checked baggage fees by $10 each for the first and second checked bags and by $150 for the third checked bag on domestic and short-haul international flights. The airline also trimmed certain benefits for economy passengers.
It had earlier said it expected a $400 million increase in first-quarter expenses due to the fuel prices.
CATHAY PACIFIC
The Hong Kong airline said it would hike its fuel surcharge by 34% across routes from April 1 and review them every two weeks. The carrier’s CEO said it would maintain flight capacity despite the high fuel prices, but that its 10% passenger capacity growth plan could change if demand declines due to high fuel prices.
CEBU AIR
The Philippines-based airline said the sharp rise in fuel prices was a key concern and it would continue to review its pricing and network strategies to mitigate the impact.
CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES
The airline said it would raise fuel surcharges for domestic flights from April 5, with flights of 800km and below hit with a 60 yuan ($9) surcharge and a 120 yuan surcharge for flights over 800km.
DELTA AIR LINES
Delta said it would cut capacity by around 3.5 percentage points from its original plan and raise fees for checked bags in an attempt to offset soaring jet fuel costs, with an increase of $10 on the price of first and second checked bags and a $50 increase on the third checked bag.
The U.S. airline pulled all planned capacity growth for the current quarter and forecast profit below Wall Street expectations. Delta CEO said it would hold off on updating the full-year outlook given uncertainty over how long the fuel price spike would last.
EASYJET
EasyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis said European consumers should expect higher ticket prices towards the end of summer, when existing fuel hedges come to an end.
FRONTIER AIRLINES
The U.S. airline is reviewing its full-year forecast as fuel prices have increased significantly since it issued the outlook.
GREATER BAY AIRLINES
The Hong Kong-based company said it would raise fuel surcharges on most routes from April 1, while keeping them unchanged on mainland China and Japan routes.
Its surcharge for flights between Hong Kong and the Philippines will more than double, the carrier said.
HONG KONG AIRLINES
The airline said it would raise fuel surcharges by up to 35% from March 12, with the sharpest increase on flights between Hong Kong and the Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal, where charges would rise to HK$384 ($49) from HK$284.
IAG
British Airways-owner IAG said on March 10 it did not plan to increase ticket prices immediately, as it has hedged much of its fuel for the short- to medium-term.
INDIGO
India’s biggest airline said it would introduce fuel charges on domestic and international flights from March 14, including a charge of 900 rupees for flights to the Middle East and a charge of 2,300 rupees for flights to Europe.
The company is also lobbying the Indian government to cut fuel taxes, sources told Reuters.
JETBLUE AIRWAYS
The U.S.-based low-cost carrier said it was increasing fees for optional services such as checked baggage as it experiences “rising operating costs”. Baggage prices will rise by either $4 or $9, it said.
KOREAN AIR
The South Korean flag carrier will enter emergency management mode from April, as rising oil prices weigh on costs, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The airline plans to implement phased response measures based on oil price levels, and step up company-wide cost efficiency to offset surging fuel costs.
PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES
The carrier said it would raise domestic flight fares by $20 and international fares by up to $100, citing higher fuel surcharges.
SAS
The Scandinavian airline said it would cancel 1,000 flights in April because of high oil and jet fuel prices, after cancelling a “couple hundred” flights in March.
SAS, which had already increased flight prices, said that even if it tried to absorb the rising fuel costs, the price surge would still be a blow to the aviation industry.
SPRING AIRLINES
The budget Chinese airline said it would raise fuel surcharges on domestic flights from April 5, with details to be announced later.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
The American carrier said it would hike checked baggage fees by $10 for the first and second bags, raising costs to $45 for the first bag and $55 for the second.
TAP
The Portuguese airline said its price hikes would partially mitigate the impact of fuel price changes on its revenue.
THAI AIRWAYS
The Thailand-based carrier said it would raise fares by 10% to 15% to address rising fuel costs.
TURKISH AIRLINES, LUFTHANSA
SunExpress, a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, said it would impose a temporary fuel surcharge of 10 euros per passenger from May 1 on routes between Turkey and Europe. The surcharge will apply to bookings made on or after April 1 for departures on or after May 1.
UNITED AIRLINES
The U.S. airline is cutting unprofitable flights over the next two quarters as it prepares for oil prices to remain above $100 until the end of 2027, CEO Scott Kirby said.
United has been able to raise fares without materially hurting bookings in response to the rapid increase in oil and jet fuel prices, Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said.
The carrier is also increasing first and second checked bag fees by $10 for customers travelling in the U.S., Mexico and Canada and Latin America, it said in an e-mailed statement to Reuters.
VIETJET
The Vietnamese budget airline said it had adjusted flight frequency on selected routes due to potential fuel shortages.
VIETNAM AIRLINES
The carrier plans to cancel 23 flights per week across domestic routes from April, Vietnam’s aviation authority said, after the airline requested government assistance to remove an environmental tax on jet fuel.
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA
Virgin Australia said it was adjusting fares to reflect rising cost pressures across the aviation sector, which it said were being significantly exacerbated by the situation in the Middle East.
WESTJET
The Canadian airline will add a C$60 ($43) fuel surcharge to some bookings and combine flights as costs soar, the Canadian Press reported.
($1 = 0.8557 euros)
($1 = 92.6520 Indian rupees)
($1 = 6.8306 Chinese yuan renminbi)
($1 = 7.8319 Hong Kong dollars)
($1 = 1.3834 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Mireia Merino, Marleen Kaesebier, Bernadette Hogg, Dimitri Rhodes and Aishwarya Jain; Editing by Matt Scuffham, Milla Nissi-Prussak and Leroy Leo)
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