U.S. airline fuel costs jump 78 pct amid Middle East conflict

NEW YORK, June 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. airlines paid nearly 6.5 billion U.S. dollars in fuel costs in April, up more than 26 percent month on month and 78 percent year on year, as the Middle East conflict passes the 100-day mark, said the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

The cost per gallon of jet fuel in April was 4.11 dollars, up 94 cents from March and 1.81 dollars from a year earlier, showed the BTS latest report.

A report released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Sunday noted that the group expects airlines to achieve a combined total net profit of 23 billion dollars this year, 18 billion dollars below its previous projection.

The IATA, representing more than 370 airlines in the United States and around the world, expects the net profit per passenger to decrease from 9.10 dollars in 2025 to 4.50 dollars this year.

The Iran conflict and rising fuel costs "have shifted the outlook for airlines to the worse," said Willie Walsh, the director general of the IATA, in the report.

Due to high fuel costs, Spirit Airlines, an American company that operated as an ultra-low-cost airline, ceased operations in early May after filing for bankruptcy twice in the previous two years.