alt.hn

4/16/2026 at 4:31:24 PM

KLM cancels 160 flights due to fuel shortage

 https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2026/apr/16/uk-february-gdp-report-economy-iran-war-stock-market-reeves-ftse-sterling-live-updates

by slow_typist

4/17/2026 at 12:46:48 AM

News outlets around the world continue to misreport this particular phenomena. Demand for air travel is highly elastic. As airlines raise prices to cover the increased cost of fuel, they are cutting capacity to ensure their load factors remain in the profitable range.

This post links to the incorrect article. From the correct one [0]:

> The Dutch airline said: "This concerns a limited number of flights within Europe that, due to rising kerosene costs, are currently no longer financially viable to operate. There is no kerosene shortage."

[0] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/16/europe-supp...

by exidy

4/16/2026 at 7:45:54 PM

This really should be bigger news.

by davedx

4/16/2026 at 9:55:56 PM

160 flights isn’t really that many, I suspect they are all on commercially marginal routes to begin with.

In my region, quite a few airlines have cut routes citing the fuel crisis. Including Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Air New Zealand. But again, we aren’t seeing widespread cancellations yet.

by guidedlight

4/17/2026 at 3:17:24 PM

And they're letting go of employees citing AI. And increasing management perks citing something-or-other, perhaps cosmic rays. The sun rises, the sun sets, the Sun crashes, it is the way of things.

by pseudohadamard

4/16/2026 at 6:02:28 PM

Remember the days when airlines used to hedge their exposure to fuel prices...???

by cjbenedikt

4/16/2026 at 7:27:12 PM

You can't really hedge a true shortage. You'll get some money, but you can't pump money into a fuel tank.

by michael1999

4/16/2026 at 7:45:13 PM

Euro airlines hedge quite a bit actually - Ryanair is one of the most hedged airlines around. US airlines do it a lot less these days; Delta has their own refinery instead.

Hedging won't make more jet fuel appear though

by davedx

4/16/2026 at 6:49:42 PM

Given that we have the facts about what it is doing to them, can we agree that if Europe doesn't like the existing trajectory of the geopolitical system their only options are to either change it by themselves or compel one or more allies to change it?

by OgsyedIE

4/16/2026 at 7:37:18 PM

There's also the third option that's usually taken: condemnation of the trajectory.

by yostrovs

4/16/2026 at 8:14:46 PM

But if they do that then Donald Trump will call them a weak loser... got any other options for them?

by bayarearefugee

4/16/2026 at 8:32:47 PM

maybe UN resolution?

by booi

4/16/2026 at 10:20:20 PM

It is due to the high cost, not shortage.

by whobre

4/16/2026 at 4:42:56 PM

[flagged]

by wg0

4/16/2026 at 5:55:09 PM

Another 3 years to go I think?

God it already feels like a century.

by expedition32

4/16/2026 at 7:32:49 PM

Because the next one won’t bend the knee to Israel.

by nslsm