Jet fuel prices reported to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics differ
from producer prices. Reports to BTS show the cost per gallon of fuel
used by an airline during the month rather than the price charged by a
producer on a single day. Fuel costs for scheduled airline services reflect
contractual and storage advantages available to large buyers, while fuel
costs for nonscheduled airline services reflect economic conditions for
smaller buyers. Jet fuel prices also reflect seasonality due to both the
seasonality of aviation and because jet fuel has similar refining requirements
to heating oil.
Current Dollars per Gallon
Apr-01
Apr-02
For nonscheduled airlines
0.85
0.73
For nonscheduled airlines percent change from same month previous year
-24.48
-14.08
For scheduled airlines
0.77
0.69
For scheduled airlines percent change from same month previous year
4.79
-10.14
NOTES: The current value is compared to the value from the same period
in the previous year to account for seasonality.
Data for January 2002 to April 2002 are preliminary due to late reports
by carriers.
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information;
June 19, 2002; available at: http://www.bts.gov/oai.
