Airlines are cutting cheaper flights amid latest jet fuel spike

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Airlines are cutting more flights this year in response to high fuel prices.

Executives from United, American and Southwest Airlines said during an investors conference Wednesday they expect to eliminate cheaper, less profitable flights from their schedule in the final months of the year.

“If fuel is higher-for-longer, I think that’s a natural response… that you trim some of that capacity off,” Southwest CFO Tom Doxey said.

Airlines already trimmed flights from their summer schedules and raised baggage fees in response to higher fuel costs. United CFO Michael Leskinen said Wednesday that airlines aren’t seeing signs that demand is weakening, even with higher fares and fees.

Airfares in June, July and August were about 25% higher compared to a year ago, according to the Consumer Price Index, which is the government’s key inflation measure.

United, American and Southwest didn’t identify which specific flights would be trimmed later this year. However, experts say the ones most likely to be cut are the cheaper, less popular flights.

“There are some routes that were on the lower end (of profitability), they get pushed into not profitable when fuel spikes like this,” said Leskinen.

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Jet fuel costs have plunged. Here’s why Delta says cheaper flights aren’t on the way

Those tend to be flights preferred by bargain hunters, not business travelers, said Zach Griff, author of an airline newsletter, From the Tray Table. That includes less traveled flights at less popular times, such as Tuesday or Saturdays, or very late night or early morning.

Adding to the pressure on fares this year is the exit of discount carrier Spirit Airlines, which halted operations in May following the first fuel surge. Meanwhile other budget carriers, like Frontier, are trying to shift towards premium offerings .

That means there are fewer options available for the budget travelers, Griff said.

“This is an environment that is really challenging for the low-end customer who are trying to find low priced airfares,” he told CNN. “The cheap fares are going away, and the fares are increasing too.”

Airlines have been paying billions more for fuel this year as the Iran war drags on. The nation’s four largest airlines – United, Delta, American and Southwest – together paid nearly 80% more for fuel from April to June than they did a year earlier.

The average price for a gallon of jet fuel rose to $4.56 a gallon Thursday, according to Argus Research. That’s the highest it’s been since early May, although still below its April peak.

But airfares aren’t entirely dependent on the cost of fuel.

“Airfares are a function of supply and demand,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian when asked by CNBC in July why the company didn’t lower fares when jet fuel prices came down from an earlier peak.

“The demand set is really strong.”

乔·雷德尔/盖蒂图片社

受燃油价格高企的影响，航空公司今年正在削减更多航班。

联合航空、美国航空和西南航空的高管周三在投资者会议上表示，他们预计将在今年最后几个月从航班时刻表中取消一些价格较低、利润较低的航班。

西南航空首席财务官汤姆·多克西表示：“如果燃油价格持续走高，我认为这是一种自然反应……那就是削减部分运力。”

为应对燃油成本上涨，航空公司已削减夏季航班并提高行李收费。美联航首席财务官迈克尔·莱斯基宁周三表示，即使票价和费用上涨，航空公司也未发现需求疲软的迹象。

根据政府衡量通胀的关键指标——消费者价格指数显示，6月、7月和8月的机票价格比去年同期上涨了约25%。

美联航、美国航空和西南航空并未透露今年晚些时候具体会削减哪些航班。不过，专家表示，最有可能被削减的是价格较低、客流量较小的航班。

莱斯基宁说：“有些航线的盈利能力本来就比较低，当燃油价格像这样飙升时，它们就变得无利可图了。”

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航空燃油成本大幅下降。但达美航空却表示，更便宜的航班短期内不会推出。

航空公司通讯《餐桌旁》（From the Tray Table）的作者扎克·格里夫表示，这些航班往往是精打细算的旅客而非商务旅客的首选。这包括一些客流量较少、时间不太热门的航班，例如周二或周六，或者深夜或清晨的航班。

今年机票价格上涨的压力雪上加霜，廉价航空公司精神航空（Spirit Airlines）在5月份首次燃油价格飙升后停止运营。与此同时，其他廉价航空公司，例如边疆航空（Frontier），正试图向高端服务转型。

格里夫表示，这意味着预算有限的旅行者可选择的方案更少了。

“对于那些试图寻找低价机票的低端消费者来说，现在的环境确实充满挑战，”他告诉CNN。“廉价机票正在消失，机票价格也在上涨。”

由于伊朗战争持续不断，航空公司今年的燃油支出增加了数十亿美元。美国四大航空公司——美联航、达美航空、美国航空和西南航空——今年4月至6月的燃油支出总额比去年同期增长了近80%。

据阿格斯研究公司（Argus Research）的数据显示，周四航空燃油的平均价格上涨至每加仑4.56美元。这是自5月初以来的最高价格，但仍低于4月份的峰值。

但机票价格并非完全取决于燃油成本。

“机票价格取决于供需关系，”达美航空首席执行官埃德·巴斯蒂安在7月份接受CNBC采访时被问及，为什么当航空燃油价格从之前的峰值回落时，该公司没有降低票价。

“市场需求非常强劲。”