Overview
- IATA lowered its 2026 global net profit forecast to $23 billion, saying jet fuel will average about $152 per barrel and add roughly $100 billion to the industry’s fuel bill.
- The warning came at IATA’s annual meeting in Rio, which on Sunday presented revised projections showing net profit margins falling to roughly 2.0 percent and profit per passenger sliding to about $4.50.
- U.S. carriers paid nearly $6.5 billion for jet fuel in April, a 78 percent year‑on‑year jump that illustrates how quickly higher oil prices are hitting airline operating costs.
- Airlines are responding with fare increases, extra fees, cancelled or trimmed routes and longer reroutings that raise fuel burn, and weaker budget and Gulf‑exposed carriers face the highest risk of insolvency.
- Structural limits including a backlog of more than 18,000 undelivered aircraft and limited sustainable aviation fuel supplies are forcing airlines to keep older, less efficient jets in service and will prolong cost pressure into 2027.