Key facts
- Jet fuel prices in Asia were about 75% higher than before the Middle East war began, industry executives told Reuters.
- Jet fuel cost $148 a barrel, down from October peaks near $180 a barrel, per the report.
- Fuel is 33% of airline operating costs, said Wong Hong, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.
- Before the war, fuel was 25% of airline operating costs, according to the International Air Transport Association.
- Japan Airlines is budgeting for jet fuel at $160 a barrel, the price it paid between April and September, Ross Leggett said.
- Air Astana's chief executive told Reuters he expects fuel to stay near current levels, a view that favors hedging.
Asian airlines are weighing whether to renew expiring jet fuel hedge contracts at high prices or fly without cover and risk further increases, Reuters reported on November 13, 2026, citing industry executives. Jet fuel in Asia was about 75% more expensive than before the Middle East war began, and the report said the chance of a sharp reversal appeared slim.
"Our view is that we are facing a new normal where the fuel price is there to stay at the levels that we see more or less today," the chief executive of Kazakhstan's Air Astana told Reuters. That view supports hedging against further increases, though the report said not everyone is comfortable buying at current levels.
Jet fuel was at $148 a barrel, below October peaks that reached close to $180 a barrel but still high, according to the report. Fuel now accounts for 33% of an airline's operating costs, Wong Hong, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, said. Before the war, the International Air Transport Association put that share at 25%, the report said. Hong described the choice facing airlines with expiring contracts as a "very, very tricky dilemma."
Japan Airlines is taking a different view on direction. "We still think it will be cyclical. It's going to go up and down," senior managing executive officer Ross Leggett told Reuters. The carrier is nonetheless budgeting for a worst case of $160 a barrel, the price it paid for fuel between April and September, according to the report.
The report said airlines globally are contending with the effect of the Middle East war on jet fuel prices, with lower profitability and plans to raise ticket prices among the consequences.