U.S. Airlines August 2020 Fuel Use Up 5% from July

he Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ August Fuel Cost and Consumption numbers.

Fuel consumed by U.S. airlines scheduled service:

• August 2019: 1.7 billion gallons
  
• July 2020: 763 million gallons
  
• August 2020: 801 million gallons  

August 2020 fuel consumption was 5% higher than July 2020, 44% higher than June 2020, 77% higher than May 2020 and 79% higher than April 2020. April was the lowest monthly fuel usage on record (447M gallons), dating back to 2000. August 2020 fuel consumption was down 52% from August 2019.

Fuel cost per gallon for U.S. airlines scheduled service:

• August 2019: $1.94
  
• July 2020: $1.17
  
• August 2020: $1.21  
  

The August 2020 cost per gallon ($1.21) for aviation fuel was up 4 cents per gallon from July 2020 but down 73 cents per gallon from August 2019. The May 2020 cost per gallon ($1.03) was the lowest since April 2004 ($1.01).

Total fuel cost for U.S. airlines scheduled service:

• August 2019: $3.2 billion
  
• July 2020: $895 million
  
• August 2020: $968 million
  

Total August 2020 fuel cost in was 8% higher than July 2020, 60% higher than June 2020 and 108% higher than May 2020, which was the lowest on record dating back to 2000. Total fuel cost in August 2020 was down 71% from August 2019.