easyJet has confirmed that it has a ‘guaranteed’ supply of 70 per cent of its kerosene for the next six months, at a price similar to that before the outbreak of war in Iran and the Middle East. easyJet’s Managing Director for Southern Europe, Javier Gándara, made these remarks at a press conference to announce the reopening of the seasonal base at Palma Airport and to provide an analysis of air traffic during the tourist season in the Balearics.
The company representative noted that the price of aviation fuel has doubled since the start of the conflict, rising from $700 per metric tonne to $1,500. He therefore emphasised that for this summer, they will be affected by ‘only’ the remaining 30 per cent of the cost of kerosene. This would imply that, in the case of easyJet, ‘they will not face a very large increase in costs’ and can ‘mitigate the impact on ticket prices’, although he referred to ‘supply and demand’ as the factors determining flight prices.
Regarding price trends, he stated that two factors are at play: the fact that Spain and Mallorca are perceived as a “safe haven” destination, but also that the crisis “does not only affect aviation”, but leads to rises in the prices of petrol, housing and the cost of living. When asked how the closure of the Strait of Hormuz might affect kerosene supplies, he commented that this is an issue they “monitor on a daily basis” with airports and fuel suppliers.
Gándara stated that supply in Europe is “guaranteed” for the coming month and, in the case of Spain, described the situation as “privileged”, as oil imports from the Middle East account for only 11 per cent. Furthermore, he emphasised that over 80 per cent of the aviation fuel loaded at Spanish airports is refined within Spain. However, he acknowledged that if other European countries face supply issues, Spain will be “affected”.
“It is very difficult to make any kind of forecast beyond the next three or four weeks, but it seems that there will be no problem during this time and we will see how things develop after that,” he said. Regarding the progress of bookings, Gándara commented that there is a ‘certain slowdown’ because, in his view, people are waiting to see what will happen in the run-up to the summer. Even so, he added that some people had already booked their summer holidays, whilst others remain to be seen as to whether they will ultimately decide to buy flight tickets or not.
“It is also true that, faced with a situation of uncertainty, people do not want to cancel their summer holidays, but it remains to be seen whether they will be able to afford them,” he emphasised. When asked whether easyJet might change its pricing policy, as other airlines have done by applying surcharges to tickets already purchased, the executive rejected this measure and stated that the price of tickets purchased will be the final price.
However, he recommended that the earlier you book, “the cheaper it will be to fly”, but confirmed that “they have no plans to change their commercial policy”. However, Iberia’s chairman, Marco Sansavini, stated on Thursday that the impact of rising fuel costs due to the war in the Middle East has already been felt on ticket prices, primarily on routes between Europe and Asia due to a reduction in seat availability.
Fuel is clearly a fundamental element in aviation, accounting for roughly 25% of an airline’s total costs depending on whether it operates long-haul, short-haul or medium-haul routes, and aviation fuel (jet fuel) has risen even more than diesel or Brent crude and costs twice as much as it did before the Gulf War.
However, there are groups such as IAG, to which Iberia belongs, that have secured hedges and, in their case, as announced in February, 62% of the fuel had already been purchased for use in 2026 at previous prices, explained Sansavini at the Wake Up, Spain! forum, organised by El Español, Invertia and Disruptores.
Such hedging allows the impact of rising kerosene prices to be smoothed out over time, “but clearly, if the conflict drags on, its impact will eventually become more visible for us too,” he warned. The Iberia chairman pointed out that ticket prices are fundamentally a reflection of supply and demand, so “where we have already seen an impact on ticket prices is mainly on routes between Europe and Asia”.
This is because, suddenly, the supply of seats available via the major Gulf hubs has disappeared, and people wishing to fly between Europe and Asia can only do so with the remaining operators, he explained. If, suddenly, supply drops sharply and there are fewer seats, this automatically leads to higher prices, although, in Iberia’s case, “we have felt this much less because our network is more focused on the Americas”, he added.