U.S. Airlines’ April 2022 Fuel Consumption Down 9.5% from Pre-Pandemic 2019; Aviation Fuel Cost per Gallon Hits Record High

June 2, 2022
The monthly cost per gallon was $3.59, up 55 cents (18.0%) from March 2022 ($3.04) and up $1.53 (74.3%) from April 2019. April 2022 airline fuel expenditure ($4.82B) increased 15.3% from March 2022 ($4.18B) and was up 57.8% from April 2019.
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The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) on June 1 released airline Fuel Cost and Consumption information for April 2022. U.S. scheduled service airlines used 1.35 billion gallons of fuel, 2.3% less fuel than in March 2022 (1.38B gallons) and 9.5% less than in April 2019. The monthly cost per gallon was $3.59, up 55 cents (18.0%) from March 2022 ($3.04) and up $1.53 (74.3%) from April 2019. April 2022 airline fuel expenditure ($4.82B) increased 15.3% from March 2022 ($4.18B) and was up 57.8% from April 2019.

For April 2022 domestic operations, the cost per gallon ($3.58) posted a 103.3% year-over-year increase and was the highest for April since record keeping began in 2000. A rise in unit cost, together with a 26.2% year-over-year increase in fuel consumption resulted in a year-over-year fuel cost expenditure increase of 156.5%, reaching $3.34B. Domestic fuel consumption decreased 4.8% from March to April in 2022, decreased 5.9% from April 2019, and increased 198.3% from April 2020.

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

(% change, April 2022 over the current period)

  • April 2022: 1.35 billion gallons
  • March 2022: 1.38 billion gallons (down 2.3%)
  • April 2021: 1.04 billion gallons (up 29.3%)
  • April 2020: 446.9 million gallons (up 201.0%)
  • April 2019: 1.49 billion gallons (down 9.5%)

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

(% change, April 2022 over the current period)

  • April 2022: $3.59
  • March 2022: $3.04 (up 18.0%)
  • April 2021: $1.75 (up 104.6%)
  • April 2020: $1.38 (up 160.1%)
  • April 2019: $2.06 (up 74.3%)

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

(% change, April 2022 over the current period)

  • April 2022: $4.82 billion
  • March 2022: $4.18 billion (up 15.3%)
  • April 2021: $1.82 billion (up 164.6%)
  • April 2020: $617.5 million (up 680.9%)
  • April 2019: $3.06 billion (up 57.8%)

Fuel Cost and Consumption data from March 2000 to the present can be found at https://www.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. The monthly web update with May data is scheduled for July 6, 2022.

Individual airline numbers through January 2022 are available on the BTS website. Individual airline numbers for March and April will be available with the BTS first-quarter 2022 financial release on June 13.