Air Canada suspends flights to JFK airport due to jet fuel prices

Aviation expert Phyl Durdey reacts to Air Canada suspending flights to New York’s JFK Airport and speaks on the ripple effects it may have on operations.

Air Canada says it will suspend flights departing from Toronto and Montreal to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport starting June 1, until Oct. 25, due to rising jet fuel prices.

In a statement to CTV News, Air Canada says, “as jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of the Iran conflict and some lower profitability routes and flights are no longer economic,” the airline is “making schedule adjustments accordingly.”

The airline added that affected customers will be contacted with alternative travel options – with Air Canada continuing to fly to the nearby LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, 34 times a day from six Canadian cities.

Aviation experts react

“The airlines are going to have to start consolidating what they’re doing,” said CTV News’ aviation specialist, Phil Durdey, on CTV News Channel Friday. Durdey says the jet fuel shortage is now starting to get ‘serious.’

“For instance, cutting off the flights to JFK, it’s not really significant but… LaGuardia, it’s 15 kilometers away, Newark is 26 kilometers away - so it’s not like they’re cutting off flights to those locations because you have other airports that can support the environment," he added.

Air Canada’s flights to JFK are not intended to serve the local market, but rather to provide connections to other carriers and destinations, according to John Gradek, a faculty lecturer in aviation management at McGill University in Montreal.

“I think Air Canada is saying ‘we’d rather have those passengers fly directly internationally from Montreal or Toronto, rather than feed them over another U.S. gateway to catch a European or Asian flight.’ It really is a strategic choice,” said Gradek in an interview with CTV News Channel on Friday.

Jet fuel prices have increased after Iran almost completely blocked the Strait of Hormuz to ships carrying resources, including oil and liquified natural gas. The narrow passageway was reopened Friday as part of a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel for 10 days, bringing uncertainty as to if the Strait of Hormuz will be closed off again after the 10-day agreement.

According to Durdey, the increased costs and suspensions of some flights are to make up for the tens of thousands of dollars in additional expenses for long-haul flights.

“For instance, if you go on a long-haul from Montreal to the Middle East, you have about 275,000 pounds of fuel on board,” said Durdey.

“So you can imagine, the price of fuel has gone up from $2.50 a gallon to $4.60 per gallon, so that’s increased the price of fuel for that one flight, for that 13-hour leg, it’s going to cost them at least $30,000 more in fuel.”

However, Durdey believes Air Canada is using the potential jet fuel shortage as an ‘excuse’ to eliminate routes that aren’t as profitable.

“I think they’re looking to redistribute their traffic and get more revenues on their services between Toronto and Montreal and overseas,” said Durdey.

“I don’t think JFK has a shortage of fuel, I think that the prices we pay for fuel you pay at JFK are the same as Newark and LaGuardia - so there’s not that much of a difference of the price of fuel or the availability of fuel.”

Durdey says he believes this is the start of many more instances where Air Canada will use the fuel shortage ‘excuse’ to peel back services.