Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea, and other low-cost airlines are feeling the financial pain from high jet fuel prices as a result of the Middle East war and are cutting flights.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has taken a huge chunk of oil supplies off the market, sending the price of jet fuel soaring and triggering fears of shortages that could force airlines to cancel flights. Airlines aren’t waiting for a lack of supplies to react.
“Travel alert: airlines are cutting thousands of flights right now,” Travel Therapy TV host Karen Schaler said in an Instagram reel this past weekend. “Book early.” That advice would win the approval of Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, who expressed concern earlier this month that fears of fuel shortages were making people put off booking flights.
Low-cost carriers — which control a little more than a third of the global market, according to various estimates — are feeling the pinch first due to the nature of their business model. With cheaper tickets, they have less capacity to absorb the rise in fuel costs.
