Jet fuel prices soar as war continues
Marketplace
Marketplace
4.6 • 8.5K Ratings
🗓️ 10 March 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As war in the Middle East pushes oil prices up, the price of jet fuel rises too. And that means air travel could get more expensive. The catch? Airlines are responding unevenly. In this episode, airlines balance pinched consumers with climbing fuel costs. Plus: Small business owner uncertainty is at its highest level in decades, investors scrutinize Oracle’s AI spending, and a Minneapolis cafe owner switches to a pay-what-you-can model amid ongoing ICE operations in the area.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The widening ripple effects of the hit to the oil markets due to the war in the Middle East, |
| 0:07.3 | plus a check-in on small businesses. |
| 0:09.9 | From American Public Media, this is Marketplace. |
| 0:16.7 | In Washington, I'm Kimberly Adams in for Kai Risdahl. It's Tuesday, March 10th. Good to have you along. |
| 0:27.6 | There are all sorts of estimates floating around, but experts and government officials are saying the war with Iran is costing the U.S. government is costing the U.S. government up to $2 billion a day. In the private sector, the impact on |
| 0:40.0 | oil markets and other commodities is already showing up in higher prices across several |
| 0:44.8 | industries, including travel. You know, if you have any big summer trips planned, FYI, airfares |
| 0:51.8 | are climbing as we speak. The problem is simple. |
| 0:54.9 | As the price of oil goes up because of the war in the Middle East, so does the price of jet fuel. |
| 1:00.0 | Now, the way airlines are responding, not quite so simple. |
| 1:04.0 | Marketplaces Kaylee Wells explains. |
| 1:06.3 | Last time we saw a spike in jet fuel prices like this was at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. |
| 1:11.7 | Fuel went up and airfare went up, but people paid up anyway. |
| 1:15.3 | Because during the time there was just such a crazy level of demand for travel. |
| 1:19.2 | It was during that revenge travel period. |
| 1:21.7 | Megna Maharishi is an airline reporter at Travel Industry News Outlet Skift. |
| 1:26.2 | She says back then, we were coming out of the pandemic, craving to go somewhere with a |
| 1:30.6 | bunch of saved up money burning holes in our pockets. |
| 1:33.5 | Today, demand for travel is still elevated, but not that elevated. |
| 1:38.0 | So I think those increases are going to probably feel a little bit more painful. |
| 1:41.9 | More painful, partly because higher oil prices mean less disposable income for consumers, |
| 1:47.1 | says independent airline industry analyst Robert Mann. |
... |
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