CORRECTED-FACTBOX-Price hikes, outlook cuts - What airlines are doing as fuel costs surge

Below is a list of how airlines are responding, in alphabetical order: AEGEAN ​AIRLINES The Greek airline expects suspended Middle East flights and a spike in fuel prices to have a "notable impact" on its first-quarter results. AIRASIA X The Malaysian airline's ‌executives said the company ​had cut 10% of flights across the group, with a surcharge of about 20% on fuel in general. AIR CANADA Canada's largest carrier plans to trim four of its 38 daily flights to New York due to higher fuel prices.


Reuters | Updated: 27-04-2026 17:40 IST | Created: 27-04-2026 17:40 IST
CORRECTED-FACTBOX-Price hikes, outlook cuts - What airlines are doing as fuel costs surge

A surge in jet fuel prices driven by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has upended the global aviation industry, forcing airlines to raise fares and revise their financial outlooks.

Jet fuel prices have soared from $85 to $90 ​per barrel to $150 to $200 per barrel in recent weeks, a financial hit for an industry where fuel accounts for up to a quarter of operating expenses. Below is a list of how airlines are responding, in alphabetical order:

AEGEAN ​AIRLINES The Greek airline expects suspended Middle East flights and a spike in fuel prices to have a "notable impact" on its first-quarter results.

AIRASIA X The Malaysian airline's ‌executives said the company ​had cut 10% of flights across the group, with a surcharge of about 20% on fuel in general.

AIR CANADA Canada's largest carrier plans to trim four of its 38 daily flights to New York due to higher fuel prices. The four flights to JFK International Airport will be cut from June 1 to October 25, 2026.

AIR FRANCE-KLM The airline group said it planned to increase long-haul ticket prices to address surging fuel costs, with cabin fares set to rise by 50 euros ($59) per round trip.

The group's Dutch arm KLM said on April 16 it would cancel 160 flights in Europe in the coming month due to rising fuel costs. AIR INDIA

The Indian carrier said it would revise its fuel surcharge from a flat domestic surcharge to a distance-based ‌grid. It said surcharges on international routes did not compensate for the exponential rise in fuel prices. AIR NEW ZEALAND

The airline said on April 7 it would slash flights through May and June and hike fares, having been one of the first to announce broad increases to ticket prices when the conflict broke out. It also suspended its full-year earnings forecast due to fuel market volatility. AIR TRANSAT

The Canadian airline said it would reduce planned capacity by 6% from May until October this year, with cuts expected on routes to Europe and the Caribbean and its service to Cuba remaining suspended until October. AKASA AIR

India's Akasa Air said it was introducing a fuel surcharge ranging between 199 and 1,300 Indian rupees ($2 to $14) on domestic and international flights. ALASKA AIR

The carrier withdrew its full-year profit forecast and warned of a steep hit to second-quarter earnings as the sharp rise in fuel prices puts pressure on margins. It has also trimmed capacity in some markets. AMERICAN AIRLINES

The U.S. carrier said it would hike checked baggage fees by $10 each for the first and second ‌checked bags and by $150 for the third checked bag on domestic and short-haul international flights. It also trimmed certain benefits for economy passengers. ASIANA AIRLINES

The South Korean airline will slash 22 flights between April and July due to the fuel cost increase, Newsis reported. CATHAY PACIFIC

The airline raised HK$2.08 billion ($265.58 million) from three-year fixed-rate notes at a yield of 3.78%, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Wednesday. CEBU AIR

The Philippines-based airline said the sharp rise in fuel prices was a key ‌concern and it would continue to review its pricing and network strategies to mitigate the impact. CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES

The airline said it would raise fuel surcharges for domestic flights from April 5, with flights of 800 km and below hit with a 60 yuan ($9) surcharge and a 120 yuan surcharge for flights over 800 km. DELTA AIR LINES

Delta said it would cut capacity by around 3.5 percentage points from its original plan and raise fees for checked bags in an attempt to offset soaring jet fuel costs, with an increase of $10 on first and second checked bags and a $50 increase on the third. The U.S. airline pulled all planned capacity growth for the current quarter and forecast profit below Wall Street expectations.

EASYJET EasyJet warned of a bigger half-year pre-tax loss of between 540 million and 560 million pounds ($729 million and $756 million), including 25 million pounds in extra fuel costs in March.

FRONTIER AIRLINES The U.S. airline is reviewing its full-year forecast as fuel prices have increased significantly since it issued the outlook.

GREATER BAY AIRLINES The Hong Kong-based company said it would raise fuel surcharges on most routes from April 1, while keeping them unchanged on mainland China and Japan routes.

HONG KONG AIRLINES The airline said it would raise fuel surcharges by up to 35% from March 12, with ⁠the sharpest increase on flights ​between Hong Kong and the Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal, where charges would rise to HK$384 from HK$284.

IAG British Airways-owner IAG said in March it ⁠did not plan to increase ticket prices immediately, as it had hedged much of its fuel for the short- to medium-term.

INDIGO India's biggest airline said it would introduce fuel charges on domestic and international flights from March 14, including a charge of 900 rupees for flights to the Middle East and a charge of 2,300 rupees for flights to Europe.

JETBLUE AIRWAYS Joanna Geraghty, CEO of the U.S.-based low-cost carrier, told employees in a memo seen by Reuters that the carrier would not consider bankruptcy this year, even as rising jet fuel costs threaten its financial recovery. The company entered a $500 million debt financing agreement, according to ⁠an SEC filing.

KOREAN AIR The South Korean carrier will enter emergency management mode from April, as rising oil prices weigh on costs, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. LUFTHANSA

The airline group said 20,000 short-haul flights would be removed from its schedule through October, equivalent to about 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel. The German company previously said it would ground 27 planes servicing its short-haul CityLine subsidiary earlier than planned. PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES

The carrier said it would raise domestic flight fares by $20 and international fares by up to $100, citing higher fuel surcharges. QANTAS AIRWAYS

Australia's Qantas said it had ​delayed a planned A$150 million ($107 million) buyback and was raising its estimated fuel bill for the second half of 2026 to A$3.1 billion-A$3.3 billion, from a previous A$2.5 billion forecast. SAS

The Scandinavian airline said it would cancel 1,000 flights in April because of high oil and jet fuel prices, after cancelling a "couple hundred" flights in March. SPIRIT AIRLINES

The U.S. low-cost carrier asked the Trump administration for hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency funding to offset rising fuel ⁠prices and stave off a possible liquidation, Air Current reported citing people familiar with the matter. SPRING AIRLINES

The budget Chinese airline said it would raise fuel surcharges on domestic flights from April 5, with details to be announced later. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

The American carrier forecast second-quarter profit below estimates as margins were dented by high fuel prices. It previously said it would hike checked baggage fees by $10 for the first and second bags, raising costs to $45 for the first bag and $55 for the second. TAP

The Portuguese airline said its price hikes would partially mitigate the impact of fuel price changes on its revenue. THAI AIRWAYS

The Thailand-based carrier said it would raise fares by ⁠10% to 15% ​to address rising fuel costs. TUI

The European airline and tour operator cut its full-year underlying profit outlook and suspended revenue guidance, saying it had incurred about 40 million euros in extra costs due to the war in March, including repatriation efforts and operational disruptions. TURKISH AIRLINES, LUFTHANSA

SunExpress, a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, said it would impose a temporary fuel surcharge of 10 euros per passenger from May 1 on routes between Turkey and mainland Europe. The surcharge will apply to bookings made on or after April 1 for departures on or after May 1. Turkish Airlines said on April 10 it had decided not to distribute any dividend from its 2025 net profit, opting to retain earnings to preserve cash.

T'WAY AIR The South Korean low-cost carrier said it planned to furlough some of its cabin crew without pay in May and June as part of measures to address the impact of the war.

UNITED AIRLINES The U.S. airline's CEO Scott Kirby said ticket prices may need to rise by as much as ⁠15% to 20% to offset a surge in jet fuel costs. The company already instated five fare increases late in the first quarter, along with higher baggage fees, which it said have started to offset rising fuel costs.

The carrier also forecast second-quarter and full-year profits below Wall Street estimates and said it expected to recover only 40-50% of the increase in fuel prices through fares and other revenue measures in the second quarter, improving to 70-80% in the third ⁠and to as much as 85-100% by the fourth. VIETJET

The Vietnamese budget airline said it had adjusted flight frequency on selected routes due to potential ⁠fuel shortages. VIETNAM AIRLINES

The carrier plans to cancel 23 flights per week across domestic routes from April, Vietnam's aviation authority said, after the airline requested government assistance to remove an environmental tax on jet fuel. VIRGIN ATLANTIC

The airline is adding fuel surcharges to fares but will still struggle to return to profitability this year, its CEO Corneel Koster told the Financial Times. VIRGIN AUSTRALIA

Virgin Australia said it expected an increase in jet fuel cost of around A$30 million-A$40 million for the second half of this fiscal year, and a 1% reduction in capacity in the fourth quarter. VOLOTEA

The Spanish low-cost airline introduced a new pricing policy linking ticket prices to fuel costs, which could potentially add a post-purchase surcharge of up to 14 euros per passenger, per flight. WESTJET The Canadian ‌airline has cut seat capacity for June, the Globe and Mail reported. The Canadian Press ‌previously reported that the carrier would add a C$60 ($44) fuel surcharge to some bookings and combine flights as costs soar.

($1 = 0.8543 euros) ($1 = 94.0300 Indian rupees)

($1 = 7.8320 Hong Kong dollars) ($1 = 6.8302 Chinese yuan renminbi)

($1 = 0.7412 pounds) ($1 = 1.3978 Australian dollars)

($1 = 1.3668 Canadian dollars)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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