IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jaitra/v36y2014icp33-40.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fuel hedging and airline operating costs

Author

Listed:
  • Lim, Siew Hoon
  • Hong, Yongtao

Abstract

Fuel hedging is a common risk management tool used in the airline industry. But past studies have not addressed the question of whether fuel hedging creates any benefit to airline operations. This study is the first work that empirically examines the role of fuel hedging in reducing airlines’ operating costs. Using US airlines data from 2000 through 2012, we find that, after accounting for the presence of cost inefficiency, fuel-hedging airlines had about 9–12% lower operating costs, but this effect is statistically insignificant. Irrespective of the hedging status, US airlines could reduce operating costs by an average of 12–14% per year without reducing output.

Suggested Citation

  • Lim, Siew Hoon & Hong, Yongtao, 2014. "Fuel hedging and airline operating costs," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 33-40.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:36:y:2014:i:c:p:33-40
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2013.12.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969699713001531
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2013.12.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fried, Harold O. & Lovell, C. A. Knox & Schmidt, Shelton S. (ed.), 2008. "The Measurement of Productive Efficiency and Productivity Growth," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195183528.
    2. René M. Stulz, 2004. "Should We Fear Derivatives?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 18(3), pages 173-192, Summer.
    3. David A. Carter & Daniel A. Rogers & Betty J. Simkins, 2006. "Hedging and Value in the U.S. Airline Industry," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 18(4), pages 21-33, September.
    4. Rao, Vadhindran K., 1999. "Fuel price risk management using futures," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 39-44.
    5. Rampini, Adriano A. & Sufi, Amir & Viswanathan, S., 2014. "Dynamic risk management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(2), pages 271-296.
    6. Froot, Kenneth A & Scharfstein, David S & Stein, Jeremy C, 1993. "Risk Management: Coordinating Corporate Investment and Financing Policies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(5), pages 1629-1658, December.
    7. David A. Carter & Daniel A. Rogers & Betty J. Simkins, 2006. "Does Hedging Affect Firm Value? Evidence from the US Airline Industry," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 35(1), pages 53-86, March.
    8. René M. Stulz, 1996. "Rethinking Risk Management," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 9(3), pages 8-25, September.
    9. Pitt, Mark M. & Lee, Lung-Fei, 1981. "The measurement and sources of technical inefficiency in the Indonesian weaving industry," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 43-64, August.
    10. Morrell, Peter, 2011. "Current challenges in a ‘Distressed’ industry," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 14-18.
    11. Peter Morrell & William Swan, 2006. "Airline Jet Fuel Hedging: Theory and Practice," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(6), pages 713-730, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Merkert, Rico & Swidan, Hassan, 2019. "Flying with(out) a safety net: Financial hedging in the airline industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 206-219.
    2. Scotti, Davide & Volta, Nicola, 2017. "Profitability change in the global airline industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1-12.
    3. Azadian, Farshid & Vasigh, Bijan, 2019. "The blurring lines between full-service network carriers and low-cost carriers: A financial perspective on business model convergence," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 19-26.
    4. Stamolampros, Panagiotis & Korfiatis, Nikolaos, 2019. "Airline service quality and economic factors: An ARDL approach on US airlines," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 24-31.
    5. Philip G. Gayle & Ying Lin, 2021. "Cost Pass‐Through In Commercial Aviation: Theory And Evidence," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(2), pages 803-828, April.
    6. Güllü, Refik & Erkip, Nesim, 2024. "Risk pooling under demand and price uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 315(1), pages 120-129.
    7. Sibdari, Soheil & Mohammadian, Iman & Pyke, David F., 2018. "On the impact of jet fuel cost on airlines’ capacity choice: Evidence from the U.S. domestic markets," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 1-17.
    8. Hu, Rong & Xiao, Yi-bin & Jiang, Changmin, 2018. "Jet fuel hedging, operational fuel efficiency improvement and carbon tax," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 103-123.
    9. Thanh Ngo & Kan Wai Hong Tsui, 2022. "Estimating the confidence intervals for DEA efficiency scores of Asia-Pacific airlines," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 3411-3434, September.
    10. Turner, Peter A. & Lim, Siew Hoon, 2015. "Hedging jet fuel price risk: The case of U.S. passenger airlines," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 44, pages 54-64.
    11. Samunderu, E. & Perret, J.K. & Geller, G., 2023. "The economic value rationale of fuel hedging: An empirical perspective from the global airline industry," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    12. Campa, Juan Luis & Arce, Rosa & López-Lambas, María Eugenia & Guirao, Begoña, 2018. "Can HSR improve the mobility of international tourists visiting Spain? Territorial evidence derived from the Spanish experience," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 94-107.
    13. Zhen-Jia-Liu, 2021. "Effect Of Fuel Price Volatility On Real Activities Earnings Management In Airlines Related To Fuel Price Hedging," Economics and Management, Faculty of Economics, SOUTH-WEST UNIVERSITY "NEOFIT RILSKI", BLAGOEVGRAD, vol. 18(1), pages 33-53.
    14. Lee, Kuen-Chang & Tsai, Wen-Hsien & Yang, Chih-Hao & Lin, Ya-Zhi, 2018. "An MCDM approach for selecting green aviation fleet program management strategies under multi-resource limitations," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 76-85.
    15. Manuela Jr., Wilfred S. & Rhoades, Dawna L. & Curtis, Tamilla, 2016. "An analysis of Delta Air Lines' oil refinery acquisition," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 50-63.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Merkert, Rico & Swidan, Hassan, 2019. "Flying with(out) a safety net: Financial hedging in the airline industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 206-219.
    2. Swidan, Hassan & Merkert, Rico & Kwon, Oh Kang, 2019. "Designing optimal jet fuel hedging strategies for airlines – Why hedging will not always reduce risk exposure," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 20-36.
    3. Berghöfer, Britta & Lucey, Brian, 2014. "Fuel hedging, operational hedging and risk exposure — Evidence from the global airline industry," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 124-139.
    4. Swidan, Hassan & Merkert, Rico, 2019. "The relative effect of operational hedging on airline operating costs," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 70-77.
    5. Markus Hang & Jerome Geyer-Klingeberg & Andreas W. Rathgeber & Clémence Alasseur & Lena Wichmann, 2021. "Interaction effects of corporate hedging activities for a multi-risk exposure: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 789-818, February.
    6. Samunderu, E. & Perret, J.K. & Geller, G., 2023. "The economic value rationale of fuel hedging: An empirical perspective from the global airline industry," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    7. Alberto Manconi & Massimo Massa & Lei Zhang, 2018. "The Informational Role of Corporate Hedging," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(8), pages 3843-3867, August.
    8. Jiao Wang & Lima Zhao & Arnd Huchzermeier, 2021. "Operations‐Finance Interface in Risk Management: Research Evolution and Opportunities," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 30(2), pages 355-389, February.
    9. Monda, Barbara & Giorgino, Marco & Modolin, Ileana, 2013. "Rationales for Corporate Risk Management - A Critical Literature Review," MPRA Paper 45420, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Biguri, Kizkitza & Brownlees, Christian & Ippolito, Filippo, 2022. "Corporate hedging and the variance of stock returns," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Dionne, Georges & El Hraiki, Rayane & Mnasri, Mohamed, 2023. "Determinants and real effects of joint hedging: An empirical analysis of US oil and gas producers," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    12. Mohamed Mnasri & Georges Dionne & Jean-Pierre Gueyie, 2013. "The Maturity Structure of Corporate Hedging: the Case of the U.S. Oil and Gas Industry," Cahiers de recherche 1337, CIRPEE.
    13. Söhnke M. Bartram & Gregory W. Brown & Frank R. Fehle, 2009. "International Evidence on Financial Derivatives Usage," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 185-206, March.
    14. Lau, Chee Kwong, 2016. "How corporate derivatives use impact firm performance?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(PA), pages 102-114.
    15. Dionne, Georges & Mnasri, Mohamed, 2018. "Real implications of corporate risk management: Evidence from U.S. oil producers," Working Papers 18-5, HEC Montreal, Canada Research Chair in Risk Management.
    16. Tai, Vivian W. & Lai, Yi-Hsun & Yang, Tung-Hsiao, 2020. "The role of the board and the audit committee in corporate risk management," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    17. Dionne, Georges & Gueyie, Jean-Pierre & Mnasri, Mohamed, 2018. "Dynamic corporate risk management: Motivations and real implications," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 97-111.
    18. Mnasri, Mohamed & Dionne, Georges & Gueyie, Jean-Pierre, 2013. "How do firms hedge risks? Empirical evidence from U.S. oil and gas producers," Working Papers 13-3, HEC Montreal, Canada Research Chair in Risk Management.
    19. Markus Hang & Jerome Geyer‐Klingeberg & Andreas W. Rathgeber & Stefan Stöckl, 2021. "Rather complements than substitutes: Firm value effects of capital structure and financial hedging decisions," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 4895-4917, October.
    20. Doukas, John A. & Mandal, Sonik, 2018. "CEO risk preferences and hedging decisions: A multiyear analysis," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 131-153.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:36:y:2014:i:c:p:33-40. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-air-transport-management/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.