Air Canada suspends JFK flights for summer as Iran war doubles jet fuel price

The suspension is one of the more visible consumer-facing effects of a fuel crisis hitting aviation globally, with carriers from Delta Air Lines to Lufthansa pulling back routes or raising fees as jet fuel costs have surged to $4.32 per gallon, according to Argus Media — up from $2.50 before the Iran war began.

Air Canada will suspend service between Toronto and Montreal and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport for nearly five months beginning June 1, the Montreal-based carrier said Friday, as jet fuel prices driven by the war in Iran have made certain routes unprofitable. Flights to JFK will resume Oct. 25.

Service to the New York area’s two other airports — LaGuardia and Newark — will continue. Air Canada operates 34 flights a day to those airports from six Canadian cities.

The carrier said it would contact affected customers with alternate travel options.

“As jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of the Iran conflict and some lower profitability routes and flights are no longer economic, and we are making schedule adjustments accordingly,” an Air Canada spokesman said.

The average price for a gallon of jet fuel reached $4.32 on Thursday, up from $2.50 the day before the Iran war began, according to Argus Media.

Oil prices fell more than 10 percent Friday after Iran announced the Strait of Hormuz is open again for commercial tankers carrying oil from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

Wider industry pressure

Air Canada’s suspension is one of several carrier pullbacks as fuel and labor — typically the two largest annual expenses for airlines — squeeze margins.

Delta Air Lines said this month that higher fuel would add $2 billion to its second-quarter costs. JetBlue and United Airlines have raised bag fees to offset higher costs. Lufthansa and KLM have scaled back service on routes that fuel prices have rendered unprofitable.

International Energy Agency Director Fatih Birol told the Associated Press on Thursday that Europe has “maybe six weeks” of remaining jet fuel supplies and said the global economy faces its “largest energy crisis.”