US airline jet fuel use decreasing as passenger numbers grow

Although the number of passengers traveling on U.S. carriers in 2016 was 7 percent higher than in 2007, the amount of jet fuel was 11 percent lower in 2016 than a decade ago, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted in a recent report.

Although long-terms in jet fuel use trends show decreases, the amount consumed by U.S. airlines increased in both 2015 and 2016. U.S. airlines with annual operating revenue of more than $20 million used 17.7 billion gallons of fuel in 2016, according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Annual growth in jet fuel consumed by U.S. airline carriers was 3 percent in 2015 and 2 percent in 2016—the two highest growth rates since 2004.

Although the number of flights has decreased, according to BTS, U.S. airlines transported a record 822 million passengers in 2016, a 20 percent increase from 2007.

In order to carry more passengers on fewer planes, airlines increased their load factors, which are a percentage of available seat-miles that earn revenue. Non-revenue seats include unoccupied seats and seats used by personnel such as aircraft employees, air marshals or safety inspectors. Load factors on domestic routes grew from 80 percent in 2007 to 85 percent in 2016. During the same period, load factors on international routes increased slightly from 80 percent to 81 percent.

Improved airline fuel economy has allowed airlines to use less jet fuel. The average fuel economy of U.S. carriers in terms of available seat-miles per gallon increased 22 percent since 2007. When factoring in the impact of increased load factors on reducing the amount of fuel needed, average fuel economy increases by 27 percent.

The EIA expects fuel economy to continue to improve as airlines continue to introduce more fuel-efficient aircraft.