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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

U.S. Airlines’ February 2023 Fuel Cost per Gallon Down 1.7% from January 2022; Aviation Fuel Consumption Up 1.3% from Pre-Pandemic February 2019

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ February 2023 fuel cost and consumption numbers indicating U.S. scheduled service airlines used 1.307 billion gallons of fuel, 7.5% less fuel than in January 2023 (1.413 billion gallons) and 1.3% more than in pre-pandemic February 2019. The cost per gallon of fuel in February 2023 ($3.23) was down 5 cents (1.7%) from January 2023 ($3.28) and up $1.25 (63.1%) from February 2019. Total February 2023 fuel expenditure ($4.22B) was down 9.0% from January 2023 ($4.63B) and up 64.6% from pre-pandemic February 2019. Fuel cost and consumption statistics are not adjusted for inflation or seasonality.


Year-over-year increases in fuel consumption and cost for February 2023 include 10.6% in domestic fuel consumption, 38.9% in domestic fuel cost, and 25.6% in cost per gallon.  Domestic fuel consumption decreased 6.7% from January 2023 to February 2023, while increasing 3.7% from February 2019. Increased fuel consumption reflects an increase in airline passenger travel over the same period. 

 

Line graph displaying U.S. Airlines Fuel Consumption data for January 2020 through February 2023

 

Fuel consumed by U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service:

February 2019:         1.29 billion gallons
February 2022:         1.14 billion gallons
January 2023:            1.41 billion gallons
February 2023:          1.31 billion gallons

 

Line graph displaying U.S. Airlines Fuel Cost data for January 2020 through February 2023

 

Fuel cost per gallon for U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service:

February 2019:    $1.98
February 2022:    $2.60
January 2023:      $3.28
February 2023:    $3.23


Total fuel cost for U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service:

February 2019:    $2.56 billion
February 2022:    $2.98 billion
January 2023:      $4.63 billion
February 2023:    $4.22 billion


Fuel Cost and Consumption data from January 2000 to the present can be found at https://transtats.bts.gov/fuel.asp. Summaries by month are also available.

Airline fuel costs may be affected by hedging, contracts that allow airlines to limit exposure to future price changes. 

Individual airline numbers through September 2022 are available on the BTS website.

 
Please Note:
The information provided within BTS statistical releases may not be based on 100% of reporting carriers. Generally, data are released per schedule if reports have been received from at least 90% of the carriers, along with data from all the major carriers. Regarding this release, the following carriers remain pending: Eastern Airlines (1BQ), Elite Airways (2HQ), and Caribbean Sun Airlines (WL). Also, within text, percent change results may not be exact due to rounding.

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