Fuel consumed by U.S. airlines scheduled service:

September 2019          1.5 billion gallons

August 2020                  801 million gallons

September 2020            728 million gallons

September 2020 fuel consumption was 9% lower than August 2020, 5% lower than July 2020, 30% higher than June 2020, 61% higher than May 2020 and 63% higher than April 2020. April was the lowest monthly fuel usage on record (447M gallons), dating back to 2000. September 2020 fuel consumption was down 51% from September 2019.

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

September 2019          $1.96

August 2020                $1.21

September 2020          $1.17

The September 2020 cost per gallon ($1.17) for aviation fuel was down 4 cents per gallon from August 2020 but down 79 cents per gallon from September 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:

September 2019          $2.9 billion

August 2020                   $968 million

September 2020             $852 million

Total September 2020 fuel cost was 12% lower than August 2020, 5% lower than July 2020, 41% higher than June 2020 and 83% higher than May 2020, which was the lowest on record dating back to 2000. Total fuel cost in September 2020 was down 71% from September 2019.

The Fuel Cost and Consumption page can be found here: https://www.transtats.bts.gov/fuel.asp Summaries by month are also available.

Preliminary fuel cost and consumption numbers are industry summaries only. Airline fuel costs may be affected by hedging, contracts that allow airlines to limit exposure to future changes in fuel prices. The monthly web update with October data is scheduled for Dec. 2.

Individual airline numbers  through June are available on the BTS website. Individual airline numbers for July, August and September will be available with the BTS third-quarter 2020 financial release on Dec. 7.