Airlines decry high fuel prices

Sept. 6, 2023 Updated Wed., Sept. 6, 2023 at 8:34 p.m.

Three U.S. carriers warned about an unexpected surge this quarter in the price of jet fuel, one of the industry’s highest expenses, adding to lingering concerns about demand in domestic markets, lower fares and rising labor costs.

Southwest Airlines also said that unit revenue, a measure of demand and fares, would fall 5% to 7% from a year earlier, compared with a prior outlook for a drop of 3% to 7%, according to a regulatory filing by the carrier Wednesday. The shares fell 2% at 9:32 a.m. in New York.

Industry analysts have been forecasting that U.S. carriers would likely soon update existing financial guidance for the quarter, largely because of lower domestic fares and fuel prices that have climbed as much as 27% since the start of the three-month period.

Airlines have faced an increasingly uncertain domestic environment, caused in part by a surprisingly strong shift to international travel over the summer.

EU launches new tech probes

Microsoft and Apple face fresh investigations from European Union regulators as part of the bloc’s landmark digital markets clampdown, which could end up forcing significant changes in how the firms do business in the region.

The likes of Alphabet’s Google Search, Apple’s App Store and Amazon.com’s marketplace are among a list of 22 services that fall under the E.U.’s Digital Markets Act, revealed on Wednesday.

Now companies including Bytedance’s TikTok and Meta Platforms’ Facebook have six months to fall in line with the new rules or challenge them in the E.U. court or challenge them in the E.U. court.

From wire reports

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