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Price hikes and outlook cuts are used by airlines to combat the fuel price surge.

The aviation industry was blindsided by the sudden increase in jet fuel costs from $85 to $100 to $150 to $200 per barrel during the U.S./Israeli war on Iran. Fuel accounts for as much as a quarter or more of the operating costs, which has forced airlines to increase fares and re-evaluate their financial forecasts.

Here is an alphabetical list of the ways airlines are responding to this issue:

AEGEAN AIRLINES

The Greek airline anticipates that the suspension of Middle East flights, as well as a spike in fuel costs will have "a significant impact" on its first-quarter results.

AIRASIA X A Malaysian airline said that it will suspend its services between Melbourne and Denpasar, and Adelaide and Denpasar on June 18, due to higher fuel prices.

Executives had previously stated that the airline has cut 10% of its flights and imposed a fuel surcharge of around 20%.

AIR CANADA

Fuel price volatility has caused Canada's largest carrier to suspend its full-year forecast.

The company had announced previously that it would reduce four of its daily flights from New York to just 38 due to rising fuel prices.

AIR CHINA, CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES, REGIONAL CHINESE CARRIER

Chinese airlines are increasing fuel surcharges on domestic flights starting May 16. Surcharges will range from 30 to 90 Yuan ($4-$13) for flights less than 800 km. Surcharges for longer routes will rise by up to 170 yuan.

AIR FRANCE-KLM

The airline group expects to pay $2.4 billion more in fuel this year. The airline group has downgraded the full-year forecast for capacity growth to an increase between 2% and 4%. Previously, it had guided to a 3% to 5 percent increase.

The airline announced earlier that it would be increasing the price of long-haul tickets to address rising fuel costs. Cabin fares will increase by 50 euros ($58).

KLM, the Dutch subsidiary of the group, announced on April 16 that it would cancel 160 flights across Europe in the next month due to increasing fuel prices.

AIR INDIA

Between June and August, the Indian carrier will temporarily reduce flights on several international destinations.

Bloomberg News reported that the airline was considering furloughing employees who are not technical and reducing flight capacity more than 20% over the next three month.

Air India said that it will also revise the fuel surcharge, moving from a flat surcharge for domestic flights to a grid based on distance. The company said that surcharges for international routes do not compensate the steep rise in fuel costs.

AIR NEW ZEALAND

The New Zealand airline said that it will review its capital expenditure plans and the timing for aircraft deliveries in order to better align themselves with market demand.

It was one of the first carriers to announce a large increase in ticket prices as the conflict began. The airline warned that further capacity consolidation could occur if fuel costs remain high.

AIR TRANSAT

Canadian Airlines said that it will reduce its planned capacity of 6% between May and October this year. The airline expects to make cuts on routes to Europe, the Caribbean and Cuba, while suspending service until October.

AKASA AIR

India's Akasa Airlines introduced a fuel charge ranging from 199 to 1,300 Indian Rupees ($2 - $14) for domestic and international flights.

ALASKA AIR

Fuel prices are rising sharply, putting pressure on airline margins.

The carrier had previously withdrawn its profit forecast for the full year and warned that earnings would be severely affected in the second quarter. The carrier has also reduced capacity in certain markets.

AMERICAN AIRLINES

The U.S. airline slashed their 2026 profit projection, pushing lower expectations to a deficit, and stated that it expected jet fuel costs to rise by more than 4 billion dollars this year.

The government has increased the fees for checked bags on domestic flights and short-haul international flight by $50 for the third bag and $10 for the second bag. It also reduced certain benefits for economy passengers.

According to the Japanese airline, higher fuel costs will increase its costs by approximately 140 billion yen (883,3 million dollars) this year. However, cost reductions, fares, and hedging are expected to reduce that impact to about 60 billion yen. The airline is also looking at a domestic fuel charge for the fiscal year beginning April 2027.

ASIANA AIRLINES

Newsis reported that the South Korean airline would cut 22 flights from April to July because of fuel price increases.

CATHAY PACIFIC

Hong Kong Airlines said it will reduce fuel surcharges on most flights starting May 16, as part of its "agile response" in response to the fluctuation of jet fuel prices.

CEBU AIR

In response to the rising fuel prices, the Philippine-based airline announced that it has implemented fare adjustments as well as surcharges in various parts of its network.

DELTA AIR LINES

Delta announced that it would reduce capacity by approximately 3.5 percentage points compared to its original plan, and increase fees for checked baggage in order to offset the costs of jet fuel. The increase will be $10 on the first and second bags and $50 on third bags. The U.S. carrier pulled back on all capacity increases for the second quarter, and forecast profits below Wall Street expectations.

EASYJET

EasyJet has warned that it will suffer a larger half-year loss before tax of 540-560 millions pounds ($721-748million), which includes 25 million pound in additional fuel costs for March.

FRONTIER Airlines According to The Wall Street Journal, a group of U.S. low-cost airlines, including Frontier Airlines has proposed a $2.5 billion plan for relief to the U.S. Government. The report stated that the figure was based on the amount of jet fuel the group is expecting to spend this year in comparison to previous forecasts.

Fuel prices have increased dramatically since the carrier's forecast, and it has stated that it will be reviewing it.

GREATER BAY Airlines

The Hong Kong based company said that it would increase fuel surcharges for most routes on April 1 and keep them the same on routes to mainland China and Japan.

HONG KONG Airlines

The airline announced that it would increase fuel surcharges up to 35% starting March 12. The biggest increases would be on flights between Hong Kong, Bangladesh, and Nepal where the charges would go from HK$284 to HK$384 (US$49).

IAG, the owner of British Airways, warned that its annual profit will be lower than anticipated due to rising jet fuel prices and supply disruptions.

It had previously stated that it would increase ticket prices in order to reflect the higher fuel costs. Despite fuel hedges, the company was "not immune" from the wider fallout of fuel price volatility.

INDIGO

India's largest airline announced that it will introduce fuel charges for domestic and international flights starting March 14. The charge for flights into the Middle East is 900 rupees and for flights into Europe, 2,300 rupees.

JETBLUE AERWAYS

JetBlue has suspended its full-year forecast and announced that it will slow hiring, reduce capacity and raise fares in order to mitigate the impact of rising fuel costs.

Sources with knowledge on the subject say that KOREAN Air entered emergency management mode in April as oil prices rose.

LATAM AIRLINES

Fuel prices have increased, causing the airline to cut its core earnings forecast for 2026.

LUFTHANSA

The German airline group has said that it will be hit by jet fuel prices of 1.7 billion euros in 2026.

ITA Airways, a member of the group, announced that it would increase ticket prices by between 5% to 10% in 2026, to compensate for rising fuel costs.

The Lufthansa Group announced in April a new low-cost "Economy Basic", which limits free carry-on luggage to a laptop bag or small backpack.

The airline had previously cut 20,000 short-haul flight from its schedule until October, claiming that it was the equivalent of 40,000 metric tonnes of jet fuel.

PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS

The airline said that it would raise domestic fares up to $20, and international fares up to $100. It cited higher fuel surcharges as the reason for this.

QANTAS AIRWAYS

Qantas, an Australian airline, said that it has delayed a planned A$150-million ($107-million) buyback. It also increased its fuel estimate for the second half 2026 from A$2.5 billion to A$3.1-3.33 billion.

RYANAIR

Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, warned that the airline's profits could be "a little under pressure" if oil prices continue to rise in the fiscal year that ends March 2027.

Scandinavian Airlines announced that it would cancel 1,00 flights in April due to high jet fuel and oil prices. In March, the airline had cancelled "couple hundred" of flights.

SPIRIT AIRLINES

Low-cost carriers in the United States have abruptly shut down after collapsing due to financial pressures. This includes the steep rise in fuel prices.

SPRING AIRLINES

Chinese budget airline, China Airlines, announced that it will increase fuel surcharges for domestic flights starting April 5.

SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWAST AIRLINES

The U.S. airline forecast a second-quarter profit that was below the market's expectations. Its CEO also warned of a fuel price spike that would cost the airline billions in the quarter.

The previous increase in the cost of checked bags was $10.

The Portuguese airline claimed that price increases would partially offset the impact of fuel price changes on revenue.

THAI AIRASIA

Thai low-cost airline said that it would reduce its overall seat capacity by an average of 30 percent between May and July to offset the impact of rising fuel prices and a softening of demand.

THAI AIRWAYS

The Thailand-based airline said that it would increase fares between 10% and 15% in order to combat rising fuel prices.

The European airline, tour operator and travel agency cut their full-year profit forecast and suspended revenue guidance. They said they had incurred extra costs of about 40 million euro due to the March war, including repatriation and operational disruptions.

TURKISH AIRLINES LUFTHANSA

SunExpress, the joint venture between Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa and Lufthansa announced that it would charge a temporary fuel fee of 10 euros for each passenger on routes connecting Turkey with mainland Europe. The fuel surcharge will apply to all bookings made after April 1, for departures after May 1.

Turkish Airlines announced on April 10, that it would not be distributing any dividends from its net profit for 2025, instead choosing to keep the earnings and preserve cash.

T'WAY AIR

South Korean low cost carrier, South Korean Low-cost Airlines, announced that it would furlough cabin crew in May and/or June without pay as part of measures to address the effects of war.

UNITED AIRLINES

Scott Kirby, CEO of the U.S. airline, said that ticket prices could need to increase by up to 15% or 20% in order to offset an increase in fuel costs. The company had already implemented five fare hikes late in the first-quarter, along with increased baggage fees that it claimed were helping to offset rising fuel prices.

The carrier forecasted second-quarter and annual profits that were below Wall Street expectations. It said it would recover only 40-50% through fares and revenue measures during the second quarter. This figure was expected to improve to 70-80% by the third quarter and up to 85-100% in the fourth.

VIETJET

A potential fuel shortage has led to the Vietnamese budget airline reducing flight frequencies on certain routes.

VIETNAM?AIRLINES

Vietnam's Aviation Authority announced that the carrier will cancel 23 flights per day on domestic routes starting in April after it requested assistance from the government to remove an environment tax on jet fuel.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Corneel Kster, the CEO of the airline, told The Financial Times that despite adding fuel surcharges on fares this year it will be difficult to achieve profitability.

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA

Virgin Australia has said that it expects fuel costs to increase by around A$30-40million in the second half of the fiscal year and a reduction of 1% in capacity for the fourth quarter.

VOLOTEA

The Spanish low cost airline has introduced a new pricing strategy that links ticket prices with fuel costs. This could add an additional surcharge after purchase of up to fourteen euros per passenger per flight.

WESTJET

Globe and Mail reports that the Canadian airline has reduced seat capacity in June. The Canadian Press reported previously that the airline would add C$60 ($44.50) to certain bookings, and combine flights due to rising costs.

WIZZ AIR

Low-cost carrier revised upwards its guidance, citing strong bookings in advance and quick action to offset rising fuel prices and flight cancelations by adding capacity on new and existing routes and using promotional rates. The company had warned of a possible profit drop at the beginning of the Iran War.

(source: Reuters)