by Mary Spiller
March 14, 2026
Steep increases in jet fuel costs are driving steep fare hikes on domestic, international, and vacation routes, according to new airline pricing data.
Air travelers may soon face significantly higher ticket prices as global oil market instability linked to the Iran conflict drives up fuel costs for airlines.
The price of Brent crude oil has surged more than 50% over the past month, reaching roughly $101 per barrel. Jet fuel prices have climbed even faster during the same period. According to the Argus U.S. Jet Fuel Index, aviation fuel costs have jumped about 72%, creating financial pressure for airlines whose operating budgets are heavily influenced by fuel expenses.
Fuel is typically the second-largest cost for airlines after employee wages. Although many international carriers use hedging strategies to protect themselves from volatile fuel markets, most major U.S. airlines generally do not lock in prices in the same way, leaving them more exposed when costs rise sharply.
Data compiled by Deutsche Bank and analyzed by Business Insider shows that airfare is already climbing in several major travel markets. The research examined the lowest publicly listed ticket prices for flights booked 21 days in advance. Analysts noted that a published fare does not necessarily mean a traveler purchased a ticket at that price.
Domestic cross-country routes have experienced the largest weekly increases in passenger traffic. These long-distance trips, often referred to in the aviation industry as transcontinental flights, have seen prices more than double in some cases.
One of the busiest routes in the United States, the trip between New York and Los Angeles, carried roughly 3.4 million seats departing from John F. Kennedy International Airport last year, according to data from aviation analytics firm OAG. Average fares on similar coast-to-coast routes climbed from about $167 to $414, a 107% increase in the past week alone, Deutsche Bank’s analysis found.
Other domestic routes show similar spikes.
For example, United Airlines is currently listing flights from Washington Dulles International Airport to San Francisco for about $502—up from $149 roughly a month ago.
International travelers are also seeing rising costs. The route between New York and London is the busiest international corridor for U.S. flights and ranked tenth worldwide last year, with nearly four million scheduled seats between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Heathrow Airport.
Across transatlantic routes overall, average prices are about 40% higher than they were a month ago. On the New York-London route specifically, increases have been even sharper. Fares from Delta Air Lines rose from $285 to $553 in the past month, while United’s comparable service climbed to $846 — representing a 177% jump from the previous week, according to Deutsche Bank.
Leisure travelers planning Caribbean vacations are facing similar increases. Flights scheduled for March 27 to destinations in the region are about 58% more expensive than they were a week earlier on average.
A flight operated by JetBlue from New York to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic jumped from $165 to $566 for that date. Compared with the same period last year, the price represents more than a fourfold increase.
Other routes are also climbing. A flight from Baltimore to Montego Bay, Jamaica, operated by Southwest Airlines has more than doubled within a week. Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines flights from Los Angeles to San José have increased 40% week-to-week and are up about 120% compared with a year ago.
As oil prices remain volatile, travelers may continue to see airfare fluctuate, particularly on long-distance and international routes where fuel costs play a major role in ticket pricing.
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