BTS - Bureau of Transportation Statistics

10/07/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/07/2024 09:18

U.S. Airlines’ August 2024 Fuel Cost per Gallon down 4.3% from July 2024; Aviation Fuel Consumption up 1.9% from Pre-Pandemic August 2019

This release is published on a fixed schedule as required by the Office of Management and Budget, and statistics in this release may be revised when inputs to the statistics are corrected or updated. Data on the program page of this website are the most up-to-date and complete.

The Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines' August 2024 fuel cost and consumption numbers indicating U.S. scheduled service airlines used 1.686 billion gallons of fuel, 2.9% less fuel than in July 2024 (1.736 billion gallons) and 1.9% more than in pre-pandemic August 2019. The cost per gallon of fuel in August 2024 ($2.47) was down 11 cents (4.3%) from July 2024 ($2.58) and up $0.52 (26.9%) from August 2019. Total August 2024 fuel expenditure ($4.16B) was down 7.1% from July 2024 ($4.47B) and up 29.3% from pre-pandemic August 2019.

Year-over-year changes in fuel consumption and cost for August 2024 includes a 0.1% decrease in domestic fuel consumption, an 14.1% decrease in domestic fuel cost, and a 14.0% decrease in cost per gallon. Domestic fuel consumption decreased 2.8% from July 2024 to August 2024, while increasing 1.6% from August 2019. Increased fuel consumption reflects an increase in airline passenger travel over the same period.



Fuel consumed by U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service:
August 2019
1.65 billion gallons
August 2023
1.67 billion gallons
July 2024
1.74 billion gallons
August 2024
1.69 billion gallons


Fuel cost per gallon for U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service:
August 2019
$1.94
August 2023
$2.82
July 2024
$2.58
August 2024
$2.47

Total fuel cost for U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service:
August 2019
$3.21 billion
August 2023
$4.73 billion
July 2024
$4.47 billion
August 2024
$4.16 billion

Fuel Cost and Consumption data from January 2000 to the present can be found athttps://www.transtats.bts.gov/fuel.asp. Summaries by month are alsoavailable.

Airline fuel costs may be affected by hedging, contracts that allow airlines to limit exposure to future price changes. None of the cost numbers are adjusted for inflation. The month-to-month numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

Individual airline numbersthrough June 2024 are available on theBTS website.

Please Note:
The information provided within BTS statistical releases may not be based on 100% of reporting carriers. Generally, data are released per schedule if reports have been received from at least 90% of the carriers, along with data from all the major carriers. Regarding the release, the following carrier remains pending: Northern Air Cargo Inc. (NC). Also, within text, percent change results may not be exact due to rounding.

###