Major carriers cutting flights

Cathay Pacific said on April 11 it will cut flights from mid-May through June as jet-fuel costs surge, extending a pullback already underway at other carriers. (reuters.com) Cathay said it will cancel about 2 percent of scheduled passenger flights from May 16 to June 30, while budget unit Hong Kong Express will cut about 6 percent from May 11. The airline tied the move to higher fuel costs linked to the Middle East conflict. (cnbc.com) Air New Zealand said on April 7 it was trimming some May and June services and raising fares after jet-fuel costs more than doubled. The carrier said the latest changes would affect 4 percent of flights and about 1 percent of passengers booked in that period. (rnz.co.nz) United Airlines said on March 20 it would cut 5 percent of scheduled flights in the second and third quarters, focusing on routes it called unprofitable at current fuel prices. Chief executive Scott Kirby said fuel above $100 a barrel through 2027 would add about $11 billion to United’s annual fuel bill. (reuters.com) Qantas has taken a different path so far. The airline said in March it was raising international fares by about 5 percent on some routes as jet fuel jumped as much as 150 percent in two weeks, while Jetstar cut some Australia-New Zealand services from May. (bloomberg.com, abc.net.au) Fuel is one of the biggest airline costs, and the benchmark moved fast. The International Air Transport Association said the global average jet-fuel price rose 7.1 percent week over week to $209 a barrel in the latest reading. (iata.org) In the United States, Airlines for America put the Argus daily simple-average jet-fuel price at $4.16 a gallon on April 8. Reuters reported Chicago spot jet fuel topped $5 a gallon on April 7 as refinery maintenance tightened supply on top of war-related disruption. (airlines.org, reuters.com) The pressure is falling on summer schedules because airlines set routes and sell seats months ahead, then have to decide whether to fly thinner routes when fuel jumps. Reuters reported Air New Zealand and Cathay both targeted May and June, while United’s cuts cover the second and third quarters. (reuters.com, reuters.com) Hong Kong’s government has also moved to cushion the broader fuel shock. Chief Executive John Lee was briefed on April 9 by a task force monitoring fuel supply, and the government announced short-term measures after warning that the economic impact depends on whether the Middle East conflict continues or escalates. (info.gov.hk, news.gov.hk) For travelers, the immediate effect is narrower than the headline suggests: airlines are mostly trimming selected flights, smaller markets, and weaker departure times rather than dismantling whole networks. But with Cathay, Air New Zealand, United and Jetstar all adjusting May-to-summer schedules, fewer seats are now built into the system. (rnz.co.nz, abc.net.au, reuters.com, reuters.com)