The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ July 2023 fuel cost and consumption numbers indicating U.S. scheduled service airlines used 1.678 billion gallons of fuel, 5.0% more fuel than in June 2023 (1.597 billion gallons) and 0.1% more than in pre-pandemic July 2019. The cost per gallon of fuel in July 2023 ($2.48) was up 5.48 cents (2.3%) from June 2023 ($2.42) and up $0.50 (25.0%) from July 2019. Total July 2023 fuel expenditure ($4.16B) was up 7.4% from June 2023 ($3.87B) and up 25.1% from pre-pandemic July 2019.
Year-over-year changes in fuel consumption and cost for July 2023 include 8.4% increase in domestic fuel consumption, 26.4% decrease in domestic fuel cost, and 32.1% decrease in cost per gallon. Domestic fuel consumption increased 4.7% from June 2023 to July 2023, while increasing 0.8% from July 2019. Increased fuel consumption reflects an increase in airline passenger travel over the same period.
| Fuel consumed by U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service: | |
|---|---|
| July 2019 | 1.68 billion gallons |
| July 2022 | 1.52 billion gallons |
| June 2023 | 1.60 billion gallons |
| July 2023 | 1.68 billion gallons |
| Fuel cost per gallon for U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service: | |
|---|---|
| July 2019 | $1.98 |
| July 2022 | $3.71 |
| June 2023 | $2.42 |
| July 2023 | $2.48 |
| Total fuel cost for U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service: | |
|---|---|
| July 2019 | $3.32 billion |
| July 2022 | $5.64 billion |
| June 2023 | $3.87 billion |
| July 2023 | $4.16 billion |
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.
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 this release, the following carriers remain pending: Elite Airways (2HQ). Also, within text, percent change results may not be exact due to rounding.