A surge in jet fuel prices, driven by the ongoing United States-Israeli war on Iran, has upended the global aviation industry, prompting airlines to raise fares and revise financial outlooks.
Jet fuel prices have soared from US$85 to US$90 per barrel to US$150 to US$200 per barrel in recent days 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:
AIR NEW ZEALAND
The airline was on Tuesday one of the first to announce broad increases to ticket prices and also suspended its fiscal 2026 earnings forecast due to unprecedented volatility in global jet fuel markets.
The price hikes for one-way economy fares are set at NZ$10 (US$6) on domestic routes, NZ$20 on short-haul international services and NZ$90 on long-haul flights, with further price, network and schedule changes possible if jet fuel costs remain elevated.
CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS
The Hong Kong airline said on Tuesday it had implemented additional flights to London and Zurich in March to address disrupted travel routes. The airline said it reviews its fuel surcharges monthly and held them steady last month at US$72.90 on flights between Hong Kong and Europe or North America.
HONG KONG AIRLINES
The local carrier said it would raise fuel surcharges by up to 35.2 per cent from Thursday, with the sharpest increase on flights between Hong Kong and the Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal, where charges will rise to KH$384 (US$49) from HK$284.
IAG
British Airways’ owner IAG said on Tuesday that it was not planning to hike ticket prices immediately, as it had hedged much of its fuel for the short to mid-term.
QANTAS AIRWAYS
The Australian airline said on Tuesday it would hike fares on its international routes for the week of Mar 9 and that it was considering adding capacity on its existing Europe routes in the coming months.
SAS (SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES)
The dominant airline in the Nordic countries said on Tuesday that it had implemented a temporary price adjustment due to rising jet fuel prices.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES AND SCOOT
In response to queries from CNA, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) spokesperson said on Wednesday that SIA and budget airline Scoot’s airfares “are determined by supply and demand, and therefore dynamic and subject to change”.
The spokesperson added that neither airline imposes fuel surcharges on their flights.
THAI AIRWAYS
The Thailand-based carrier said on Wednesday that it would raise fares by 10 per cent to 15 per cent to address rising fuel costs.
UNITED AIRLINES
The airline’s CEO Scott Kirby said on Mar 6 that he expects a “meaningful” hit to the carrier’s first-quarter results from the surging fuel prices.
VIETNAM AIRLINES
The Vietnam-based airline said it had requested government assistance to remove an environmental tax on jet fuel, as operating costs for Vietnamese airlines have surged by around 70 per cent due to the jet fuel price rise, according to local officials.
