Lufthansa slashes 20K flights to save jet fuel as Iran war drives up oil prices

The German company that owns Lufthansa Airlines and other European carriers said Tuesday that it would cut 20,000 short-haul flights through October as the Iran war drives up oil prices and deepens worries that some countries may run low on jet fuel.The Lufthansa Group said the cancellation of less profitable routes, focused largely on its hub airports in the German cities of Frankfurt and Munich, would save the equivalent of approximately 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel.The company last week shut down one of its regional subsidiaries, CityLine, to cut costs.It said a “planned consolidation” within its European network also would involve Lufthansa Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SWISS and ITA Airways, and hubs in Brussels, Rome, Vienna and Zurich.The price of jet fuel has more than doubled in some markets since late February, when the war began with U.S.

and Israeli strikes on Iran.Airlines are particularly vulnerable to fuel price shocks because jet fuel typically accounts for one of their largest operating expenses.For travelers, that is already translating into fewer flight options on some routes and higher fees and fares heading into the peak summer season, with many airlines raising checked bag fees or adding fuel surcharges.Fighting around the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway off Iran’s coast where a fifth of the world’s oil typically passes, has disrupted fuel prices and supplies around the world.The head of the International Energy Agency estimated on April 16 that Europe had about 6 weeks’ worth of jet fuel remaining and said airlines would start to cut routes from their schedules without more.

The European Union’s top energy official is also warning that the energy crisis sparked by the war could impact prices for months “or maybe even years” to come.“This is not a short-term, small increase in prices,” EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said Wednesday.Jørgensen said the war is costing Europe around 500 million euros ($...