Gas prices are displayed at a Shell gas station as an airplane approaches San Diego International Airport in California, April 24, 2026.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images
Volatile fuel prices and resilient travel demand are threatening to keep airfare high this year. Airline profits will be harder to come by.
The Iran war that began at the end of February sent fuel prices to multi-year if not record highs, including for diesel, gasoline and jet fuel, airlines’ biggest expense after labor. Supply scares with the Strait of Hormuz disruptions lasting most of this year and high demand have sent jet fuel prices and other distilled products up more than crude oil.
Airline executives aren’t expecting much relief in fuel costs anytime soon, or a drop in travel demand.
“You can’t run the business on the hope that the Strait of Hormuz is going to open at a certain time,” Qantas Airways CEO Vanessa Hudson told CNBC in an interview late last month. The…
