SALON

Friday, Nov 2, 2012 7:30 PM UTC

Some airlines fear jet fuel shortage in New York

By

Topics: From the Wires,

NEW YORK (AP) — Fears of a jet fuel shortage at New York’s airports have led some airlines to take the unusual — and costly — step of putting extra fuel on planes.

The worries have emerged following Superstorm Sandy, which has disrupted the flow of fuel and electricity throughout the Northeast.

US Airways, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines are among the carriers loading more fuel on New York-bound flights. This ensures they have enough fuel to leave the New York region.

Operations at the region’s three main airports are “still very much in flux,” said Todd Lehmacher, a spokesman with US Airways Group Inc.

However, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airports, said that despite the airlines’ actions, there is “an adequate supply.”

“We have, and are receiving, fuel,” said authority spokesman Pasquale DiFulco. “We’re in good shape.”

New York’s airports were closed for several days following Sandy and more than 20,000 flights across the Northeast were canceled. By Thursday morning, all major airports in the region had re-opened. The fuel worries do not appear to be crimping flight schedules.

In fact, airlines said they are adding extra fuel to avoid further cancellations.

The actions are to “minimize the likelihood that there will be any fuel-related customer disruptions,” said Victoria Day, spokeswoman for Airlines for America, the industry’s U.S. trade group.

Bringing extra fuel on planes is not ideal. Jet fuel is the airlines’ single largest operating expense. For every few gallons of extra fuel, a plane must carry one additional gallon just to fly the added weight. Airlines typically try to put just enough fuel on their planes to reach a destination, plus a 45-minute emergency reserve.

While cross-country and international flights are already fully loaded, short flights of an hour or two usually have extra room in the tanks. Airlines are using that space on New York-bound flights to carry extra fuel, which can be used to get the planes back out of the region. Most planes would still have to top-off while on the ground in New York.

Ray Neidl, an airline analyst with the Maxim Group, called the decision “a wise move” that would have “minimal effect on profitability.” There is a large added expense of carrying all the extra fuel in, but compared to the overall cost of the operation, he said it is marginal.

Spending more on fuel is preferable to canceling flights, especially in a lucrative business market like New York. Delta Air Lines alone said Sandy cost it $20 million in profit in October because of cancellations.

Airlines typically buy fuel from local companies. Some airlines have larger stockpiles than others. For instance, Delta recently bought an oil refinery outside Philadelphia, in part, to ensure that it had an adequate supply of fuel.

Delta kept the refinery running during the storm. CEO Richard Anderson said the airline used good forecasts from its in-house meteorologists to make the decision to keep facility open while some other Northeast refineries closed.

Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter said the company didn’t expect “a jet fuel supply issue in the region.”

Regional airlines Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America are, however, loading extra fuel on some inbound flights, according to Peter Kowalchuk, spokesman for their parent company, Republic Airways Holdings. Frontier Airlines, also owned by Republic, is adding additional fuel to its flights.

So is United Continental Holdings Inc., which operates a major hub out of Newark, N.J.

“Taking these precautions is not unusual in the event of snowstorms or other significant travel disruptions,” said spokesman Charlie Hobart. “We want to make sure that we can accommodate our customers and operate our aircraft effectively.”

Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said: “We are adding extra fuel to mitigate having to fuel-up in the tri-State area. We do this often, for a variety of circumstances. In this case, it’s obvious supply issues.”

American Airlines JetBlue Airways, Virgin America and Spirit Airlines, said they did not see a need to add fuel right now.

___

Scott Mayerowitz can be reached at http://twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott.

More Scott Mayerowitz.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations