U.S. Southwest Airlines CEO warns on rising fuel, maintenance costs

U.S. Southwest Ailrines CEO Gary Kelly Wednesday warned on the rising fuel and maintenance costs in the aviation industry.

"Fuel is the main concern," Kelly told the Aviation Week conference in Dallas, noting that volatile and rising fuel costs remain Southwest' s biggest challenge.

Last month, Dallas-based Southwest, the country's largest discount airline, said it expects to report a rare net loss for the first quarter due to a 250 million U.S. dollars' increase in jet fuel costs.

Kelly noted that airline industry energy costs have risen six-fold since 2000.

Southwest Airlines announced recently it is raising ticket prices to offset the high cost of jet fuel. Several other big U.S. airlines are following Southwest's lead.

Kelly also warned on the "escalation trend" in maintenance costs, saying that the trend needs to be halted.

The increasing maintenance cost trend is part of a wider problem for Southwest and the aviation industry overall, he said.

Southwest is counting on its deal for Boeing 737-800s and re-engined 737 Max narrowbodies to halt the trend of escalating maintenance costs, he said.

Kelly also called on maintenance/repair/overhaul (MRO) providers to help bring down the maintenance costs by improving efficiency and productivity.

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The Aviation Week conference was being held on April 2-5 in Dallas.