US airlines’ August 2023 fuel cost per gallon up 13.8% from July 2023; aviation fuel consumption up 1.2% from pre-pandemic August 2019
05 October 2023
In August 2023, US scheduled service airlines used 1.672 billion gallons of fuel, 0.3% less fuel than in July 2023 (1.678 billion gallons) and 1.2% more than in pre-pandemic August 2019, according to the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
The cost per gallon of fuel in August 2023 ($2.82) was up 34 cents (13.8%) from July 2023 ($2.48) and up $0.88 (45.2%) from August 2019. Total August 2023 fuel expenditure ($4.72 billion) was up 13.5% from July 2023 ($4.16 billion) and up 46.9% from pre-pandemic August 2019.
Year-over-year changes in fuel consumption and cost for August 2023 include 9.7% increase in domestic fuel consumption, 9.7% decrease in domestic fuel cost, and 17.7% decrease in cost per gallon.
Domestic fuel consumption decreased 0.3% from July 2023 to August 2023, while increasing 1.4% from August 2019. Increased fuel consumption reflects an increase in airline passenger travel over the same period.
Source: BTS
Airline fuel costs may be affected by hedging, contracts that allow airlines to limit exposure to future price changes. None of the cost numbers are adjusted for inflation. The month-to-month numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
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