Global airline fuel spending has been steadily increasing and is almost certain to break a record this year, following a notable decline brought on by the pandemic, says a report by analytics platform Stocklytics. 

According to data presented by Stocklytics, global airline industry is forecast to spend USD 291 billion on fuel in 2024 or USD 100 billion more than five years ago.

USD 100 billion higher cost for same amount of fuel

The report says that in 2019, airlines worldwide consumed 96 billion gallons or 363.4 million tonnes of fuel, which cost them roughly USD 190 billion

According to the latest Air Transport Global Outlook published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the price difference is huge.

The report says that in 2019, airlines worldwide consumed 96 billion gallons or 363.4 million tonnes of fuel, which cost them roughly USD 190 billion. 

After the pandemic hit, these figures plummeted by almost 50 pc, with airline fuel spending falling to only USD 80 billion in 2020. After a challenging 2021, the entire market bounced back in 2022. 

With airline travel returning to normal, the industry’s fuel usage jumped to 291 million tonnes that year, while total fuel spending hit a massive USD 215 billion or 13 pc more than before the pandemic.

The increasing trend continued in the past two years, but the IATA survey revealed a worrying trend where the global airline fuel usage had almost returned to 2019 levels, but fuel prices had not. As a result, airlines are paying much more money for the same amount of fuel.

Statistics show a similar fuel volume in 2024 is forecast to cost USD 100 billion or 52 pc more than in 2019. 

Thanks to this massive increase, fuel costs will make up around 32 pc of overall airline companies’ spending this year, 7 pc more than five years ago, adds the statement.

It says that this massive increase is mainly attributed to Russia’s war with Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Palestine, which significantly drove up gasoline and jet fuel prices. 

With both conflicts unlikely to cease soon, fuel prices will probably be even higher next year.

Record industry revenue to mitigate skyrocketing fuel costs

Although 2024 will bring the highest fuel costs the airline industry has ever seen, this spike could be mitigated by more than optimistic market projections. 

The IATA’s data show total traffic matched and surpassed 2019 numbers in February this year and has continued growing ever since.

The statement adds that with the global demand for flights rising, the total number of airline passengers is projected to reach almost 5 billion by the end of 2024 or 400 million more than before the pandemic. 

Besides reaching a record number of passengers, the airline industry will also generate more revenue than ever. Statistics show the global airline industry revenue is expected to gross almost USD 1 trillion in 2024 or USD 158 billion more than in 2019.