Finance and Hedging in the Commercial Airline Industry

When there is political tension or war in the Middle East or in Eastern Europe, oil and jet fuel prices shoot upward. If an airline isn’t protected against these higher prices, they can devastate its finances and send it quickly into bankruptcy. This seemingly happens on a yearly basis. Thankfully for most airlines, they are able to protect themselves against higher oil and jet fuel prices, at least in the short term, by hedging using financial instruments. The challenge for airlines is to determine which financial instruments they should use, in which products they should hedge, and how far out from fuel consumption they should hedge.

This book systematically explores the different financial instruments that airlines have to choose from, and in what situations they should be used. It will also present the reader with the options airlines have in terms of manipulating operational levers in response to higher fuel prices such as airfares, capacity and fleet size, once the protective benefits of hedging wear off.