Oil Prices Highlight Aftermarket Pressures

By Elyse Moody
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

New instabilities in the Middle East triggered events that reveal immediate pressures on the aviation aftermarket. On Jan. 31, oil prices hit $100 per barrel for the first time since 2008, soaring on word of protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. This sharp increase sent international jet fuel prices up to more than $115 per barrel, with those in the Northwest Europe market peaking at just over $120 per barrel (see chart, p. 46). When fuel prices belled two years ago, airline ...

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