The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ March Fuel Cost and Consumption numbers.
Fuel consumed by U.S. airlines scheduled service:
March 2020 1.2 billion gallons
February 2021 757 million gallons
March 2021 1.0 billion gallons
U.S. airlines used 33% more fuel in March 2021 than in February 2021 to reach the highest monthly consumption level since March 2020. In March 2021, airlines used 86% of the amount of fuel that they did in March 2020.
Fuel cost per gallon for U.S. airlines scheduled service:
March 2020 $1.48
February 2021 $1.60
March 2021 $1.85
The March 2021 cost per gallon ($1.85) for aviation fuel was the highest since January 2020 ($1.98), up 25 cents per gallon from February 2021 ($1.60) and up 37 cents per gallon from March 2020 ($1.48).
Total fuel cost for U.S. airlines scheduled service:
March 2020 $1.7 billion
February 2021 $1.2 billion
March 2021 $1.9 billion
Total March 2021 fuel cost ($1.9 billion) was the highest since February 2020 ($2.4 billion).