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BTS Statistics Show Increased Fuel Consumption

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ August Fuel Cost and Consumption numbers.

Fuel consumed by U.S. airlines scheduled service:

August 2019                  1.7 billion gallons

July 2020                      763 million gallons

August 2020                  801 million gallons 

 

August 2020 fuel consumption was 5% higher than July 2020, 44% higher than June 2020, 77% higher than May 2020 and 79% higher than April 2020. April was the lowest monthly fuel usage on record (447M gallons), dating back to 2000. August 2020 fuel consumption was down 52% from August 2019.

Fuel cost per gallon for U.S. airlines scheduled service:

August 2019              $1.94

July 2020                    $1.17

August 2020               $1.21 

 

The August 2020 cost per gallon ($1.21) for aviation fuel was up 4 cents per gallon from July 2020 but down 73 cents per gallon from August 2019. The May 2020 cost per gallon ($1.03) was the lowest since April 2004 ($1.01).