Javier Blas, Columnist

Jet Fuel Sees Crazy Prices After Two Unloved Years

A surge in demand for aviation fuel will stress airlines and supply chains.

April 13, 2022 at 5:00 AM UTC

Javier Blas is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. He is coauthor of “The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources.”

Filling up is getting pricier.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

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Michael O’Leary, the colorful chief executive officer of Ryanair Holdings Plc, had a message last month for airline rivals that had forgone fuel-cost hedges: “A crazy place to be.” Crazy is a good way to both describe the decision to do without price insurance - and the the jet-fuel market itself.

As with almost every other corner of the economy, the post Covid-19 recovery seems to have surprised the aviation industry. Airports are again packed. The number of flights is climbing very quickly and, with it, jet-fuel demand. One example: EasyJet Plc., a European low-cost carrier, on Tuesday said that booking volumes for this summer are currently ahead of those at the same point in 2019, before the pandemic started.