BTS publishes October cost, consumption figures for airline fuel

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), published airline cost and consumption of fuel data Tuesday for the month of October.

For the airline industry’s scheduled services, the cost of fuel per gallon was $2.68 in October 2014. In September 2015, this cost fell to $1.58. During October 2015, the airlines’ scheduled services spent $1.65 for each gallon of fuel.

The costs for airline fuel can be changed with hedging, which is when airlines use contracts that will limit the effect that future fuel price changes will have on the industry.

The data is available on the Airline Fuel Cost and Consumption page on the BTS’s website. There is a dropdown menu provided to see nonscheduled services as well as their related cost and consumption figures for fuel. The website also has monthly summaries available for curious readers. Only data summaries are available.

The BTS website also provides each airline number up to June 2015. Currently, the figures for July, August and September are not yet available. These will be released during the third-quarter of the 2015 financial publication, which is scheduled for Dec. 14.