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According to a new report released by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, US airlines got hit with a $6.66 billion jet fuel bill in May, an 84% jump from a year ago and the second straight month the industry’s fuel spending blew past $6 billion.
Some shit you should know before you dig in: Fuel is one of the biggest costs of running an airline, which leaves carriers badly exposed when energy prices swing. The war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that handles a fifth of the global oil supply, sent fuel prices skyrocketing this spring. Brent crude spiked to $120 per barrel during the war before cooling off to around $70 once peace talks got going. Airlines have responded by raising fares, piling on fees, and cutting flights, with average ticket prices up nearly 27% compared to last year. The spike in fuel costs was the final nail in the coffin for Spirit Airlines, which shut down in May after almost 30 years in the air and put part of the blame on rising fuel costs.
What’s going on now: The data released Tuesday shows the May spending came down almost entirely to price, not demand. Airlines actually consumed slightly less fuel than a year earlier, 1.63 billion gallons, a 0.6% dip from May 2025. What changed is what they paid for it: an average of $4.09 per gallon, close to twice the $2.21 per gallon rate from a year earlier. The May total of $6.66 billion was also up 3% from April’s $6.47 billion bill.
There’s been some relief lately. According to the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, prices have stayed under $3 per gallon since mid-June, the first time they’d dropped below that mark since early March.
But the truce keeping prices down is looking shaky. Iran hit three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, and the US responded by pulling a license that had let Iran keep selling oil under the interim ceasefire agreement. That, combined with fresh US strikes on Iran and renewed jitters about shipping through the waterway, pushed crude back above $76 per barrel Wednesday.
This all comes as the summer travel season sputters, with 45% of Americans saying they’re skipping a vacation entirely amid high travel costs.
