The rightmost columns below ("Avg. Paid Price") reflect the worldwide operations of U.S. passenger and cargo airlines, using data made available by the Department of Transportation (DOT). Prices are presented per barrel (bbl) and per gallon (gal). [Note: A barrel contains 42 gallons.] Market prices for jet fuel, recorded by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), are highly correlated with the prices of home heating oil. The table below includes prices for New York Harbor (NYH), U.S. Gulf Coast (USG) and Los Angeles (LA). Average prices paid for jet fuel are a function of long-term contracts, spot market prices, and point of sale; the mixture thereof varies widely across carriers.
See also Fuel 101: From Well to Wing or ATA's monthly jet fuel cost and consumption report.
| YEAR |
WTI Crude Oil |
Avg. Market Price
(U.S. EIA) |
Crack
Spread |
Avg. Paid Price*
(U.S. DOT) |
| $/bbl |
NYH |
USG |
LA |
¢/gal |
$/bbl |
$/bbl |
¢/gal |
$/bbl |
| 1977 |
WTI spot prices
not available
from EIA
for this
time period |
complete government data
not available
from EIA this time period
(jet fuel spot prices available eff. Apr-90) |
36.2 |
15.21 |
| 1978 |
39.3 |
16.49 |
| 1979 |
57.7 |
24.23 |
| 1980 |
89.2 |
37.45 |
| 1981 |
104.7 |
43.97 |
| 1982 |
98.9 |
41.55 |
| 1983 |
89.6 |
37.64 |
| 1984 |
85.5 |
35.91 |
| 1985 |
80.9 |
33.99 |
| 1986 |
15.05 |
55.8 |
23.43 |
| 1987 |
19.20 |
56.0 |
23.50 |
| 1988 |
15.97 |
53.5 |
22.47 |
| 1989 |
19.64 |
60.5 |
25.41 |
| 1990 |
24.53 |
78.3 |
32.87 |
| 1991 |
21.54 |
63.9 |
60.8 |
63.1 |
62.6 |
26.30 |
4.76 |
69.1 |
29.01 |
| 1992 |
20.58 |
59.4 |
57.2 |
60.3 |
58.9 |
24.75 |
4.17 |
63.7 |
26.74 |
| 1993 |
18.43 |
55.5 |
52.9 |
59.7 |
56.1 |
23.54 |
5.11 |
60.6 |
25.44 |
| 1994 |
17.20 |
52.8 |
49.3 |
54.0 |
52.0 |
21.85 |
4.65 |
55.8 |
23.44 |
| 1995 |
18.43 |
51.8 |
49.4 |
56.5 |
52.6 |
22.08 |
3.65 |
55.8 |
23.45 |
| 1996 |
22.12 |
65.8 |
61.1 |
66.5 |
64.4 |
27.07 |
4.95 |
66.4 |
27.91 |
| 1997 |
20.61 |
58.6 |
56.0 |
63.4 |
59.4 |
24.93 |
4.32 |
64.5 |
27.08 |
| 1998 |
14.42 |
43.0 |
40.3 |
44.7 |
42.7 |
17.91 |
3.49 |
51.3 |
21.55 |
| 1999 |
19.34 |
52.1 |
49.8 |
58.6 |
53.5 |
22.46 |
3.12 |
53.1 |
22.31 |
| 2000 |
30.38 |
91.1 |
85.0 |
94.1 |
90.1 |
37.83 |
7.45 |
82.4 |
33.91 |
| 2001 |
25.98 |
74.4 |
72.5 |
77.2 |
74.7 |
31.37 |
5.39 |
78.1 |
32.79 |
| 2002 |
26.18 |
71.1 |
68.7 |
73.0 |
70.9 |
29.79 |
3.61 |
71.6 |
30.08 |
| 2003 |
31.08 |
86.5 |
82.4 |
88.4 |
85.7 |
36.01 |
4.93 |
84.6 |
35.54 |
| 2004 |
41.51 |
119.5 |
115.1 |
127.8 |
120.8 |
50.75 |
9.24 |
115.5 |
48.56 |
| 2005 |
56.64 |
171.6 |
171.6 |
175.1 |
172.7 |
72.55 |
15.91 |
166.3 |
69.84 |
| 2006 |
66.05 |
195.3 |
192.3 |
203.4 |
197.0 |
82.74 |
16.69 |
196.7 |
82.61 |
| 2007 |
72.34 |
216.5 |
213.1 |
219.9 |
216.5 |
90.93 |
18.58 |
210.5 |
88.41 |
| 2008 |
99.67 |
303.6 |
296.4 |
293.9 |
298.0 |
125.15 |
25.48 |
306.8 |
128.87 |
| 2009 |
61.95 |
170.0 |
166.4 |
170.9 |
169.1 |
71.03 |
9.08 |
189.7 |
79.66 |