00:00Airline stocks were hammered on Monday, while airfare soared as the US-Israeli war with Iran sent oil prices surging,
00:08sparking fears of a deep travel slump and the potential for the widespread grounding of planes.
00:14Oil prices were trading more than 15% higher at levels not seen since 2022,
00:19as some major producers cut supplies and fears of prolonged shipping disruptions gripped the market.
00:26That promises to pile pressure on carriers already navigating tight airspace
00:31as travellers scramble to evade the Middle East conflict.
00:34In Asia, airlines bearing the brunt of investor fears included Korean airlines, which tumble 8.6%,
00:40Air New Zealand, which lost 7.8%, and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific, which lost 5%.
00:47Underscoring that pain on the consumer side were jumps in ticket prices.
00:51Direct flights from Seoul to London on March 11th with Korean airlines, for example,
00:56leapt to over $4,000, up from just over $500 seven days earlier, according to Google Flights data.
01:05In Europe, Air France, British Airways owner IAG and Lufthansa fell between 4% and 6% in early trade,
01:13while major US airlines were down about 4% in pre-market trading.
01:18Fuel is the second largest expense for air carriers after labor,
01:22typically accounting for a fifth to a quarter of operating expenses.
Comments