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LAS VEGAS (AP) \u2014 The German company that owns Lufthansa Airlines and other European carriers said Tuesday that it would cut 20,000 short-haul flights through October as the Iran war<\/a><\/span> drives up oil prices and deepens worries that some countries may run low on jet fuel<\/a><\/span>. <\/p>\n The Lufthansa Group<\/a><\/span> said the cancellation of less profitable routes, focused largely on its hub airports in the German cities of Frankfurt and Munich, would save the equivalent of approximately 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel.<\/p>\n The company last week shut down one of its regional subsidiaries, CityLine, to cut costs. It said a \u201cplanned consolidation\u201d within its European network also would involve Lufthansa Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SWISS and ITA Airways, and hubs in Brussels, Rome, Vienna and Zurich.<\/p>\n The price of jet fuel has more than doubled in some markets since late February, when the war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Airlines are particularly vulnerable to fuel price shocks because jet fuel typically accounts for one of their largest operating expenses.<\/p>\n For travelers, that is already translating into fewer flight options on some routes and higher fees and fares heading into the peak summer season<\/a><\/span>, with many airlines raising checked bag fees<\/a><\/span> or adding fuel surcharges.<\/p>\n Fighting around the Strait of Hormuz<\/a><\/span>, a waterway off Iran\u2019s coast where a fifth of the world\u2019s oil typically passes, has disrupted fuel prices and supplies around the world. <\/p>\n The head of the International Energy Agency estimated on April 16 that Europe had about 6 weeks\u2019 worth<\/a><\/span> of jet fuel remaining and said airlines would start to cut routes from their schedules without more. The European Union\u2019s top energy official is also warning that the energy crisis sparked by the war could impact prices for months \u201cor maybe even years\u201d to come.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a short-term, small increase in prices,\u201d EU Energy Commissioner Dan J\u00f8rgensen said Wednesday.<\/p>\n J\u00f8rgensen said the war is costing Europe around 500 million euros ($600 million) each day. <\/p>\n \u201cEven in a best-case scenario,\u201d he said, \u201cit\u2019s still bad.\u201d<\/p>\n J\u00f8rgensen also told reporters that EU governments \u201care very worried\u201d about possible jet fuel shortages. He says the European Commission is doing what it can to help but that Europe is mostly in defensive mode.<\/p>\n Lufthansa, meanwhile, said it has secured enough jet fuel \u201cfor the coming weeks\u201d and was \u201cpursuing a range of measures\u201d to keep its fuel supply stable for the summer, \u201cincluding the physical procurement of jet fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n All but one of the world\u2019s 20 largest airlines have canceled scheduled May flights spanning every major region, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Besides Lufthansa, the carriers include Delta Air Lines<\/a><\/span>, United Airlines<\/a><\/span>, American Airlines, Air Canada<\/a><\/span>, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air China, British Airways and Air France-KLM, Cirium said.<\/p>\n Last week, Switzerland-based carrier Edelweiss Air announced it is dropping service to Denver and Seattle this summer and reducing flights to Las Vegas through the early autumn.<\/p>\n Air New Zealand is consolidating about 4% of its schedule in May and June.<\/p>\n \u201cLike airlines globally, we\u2019re experiencing jet fuel prices that are more than double what they would usually be,\u201d the carrier said.<\/p>\n The global price of jet fuel<\/a><\/span> increased from about $99 per barrel at the end of February to as high as $209 a barrel at the beginning of April.<\/p>\n In addition to cutting flights, some airlines are also slowing their plans to add more seats and routes as a way to keep costs under control. Delta, which kicked off the earnings season<\/a><\/span> for U.S. airlines in early April, said it was scrapping plans to add more flights and seats in June, leaving about 3.5% fewer seats than originally planned.<\/p>\n As U.S. carriers continue to report their first-quarter earnings, the uncertainty around fuel costs is also showing up in their financial outlooks. Several carriers are either slashing their full-year forecasts or holding back on updating them.<\/p>\n Southwest Airlines said Wednesday it expects second-quarter earnings to come in below Wall Street estimates, citing the higher fuel prices, and it left its 2026 outlook unchanged. A day earlier, United Airlines reported it now expects full-year adjusted earnings of $7 to $11 per share, down from a previous forecast of $12 to $14.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press journalist Lorne Cook contributed to this report from Brussels, Belgium.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n