U.S. Airlines’ October 2022 Fuel Cost per Gallon Down 1.2% from September 2022; Aviation Fuel Consumption Down 7.0% from Pre-Pandemic October 2019
The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ October fuel cost and consumption numbers indicating U.S. scheduled service airlines used 1.433 billion gallons of fuel, 2.3% more fuel than in September 2022 (1.401 billion gallons) and 7.0% less than in pre-pandemic October 2019. The cost per gallon of fuel in October 2022 ($3.45) was down 4 cents (1.2%) from September 2022 ($3.49) and up $1.48 (75.1%) from October 2019. Total October 2022 fuel expenditure ($4.95B) was up 1.2% from September 2022 ($4.89B) and up 62.9% from pre-pandemic October 2019.
Year-over-year increases in fuel consumption and cost for October include 5.6% in domestic fuel consumption, 64.2% in domestic fuel cost, and 55.5% in cost per gallon. Domestic fuel consumption increased 3.6% from September to October in 2022, while also decreasing 5.2% from October 2019. Increased fuel consumption reflects an increase in airline passenger travel over the same period.

Fuel consumed by U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service:
October 2019: 1.54 billion gallons
October 2021: 1.28 billion gallons
September 2022: 1.40 billion gallons
October 2022: 1.43 billion gallons

Fuel cost per gallon for U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service:
October 2019: $1.97
October 2021: $2.23
September 2022: $3.49
October 2022: $3.45
Total fuel cost for U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service:
October 2019: $3.04 billion
October 2021: $2.85 billion
September 2022: $4.89 billion
October 2022: $4.95 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 June 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: Elite Airways (2HQ), Caribbean Sun Airlines (WL) and Kalitta Charters II (KLQ). Also, within text, percent change results may not be exact due to rounding.
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