U.S. airlines spent $3.81 billion on jet fuel in February, according to a report from the Air Transport Association. The amount is less than the $4.14 billion spent in January but 48 percent more than the $2.57 billion spent a year earlier.

The cost of jet fuel has soared but not as fast as the cost of crude oil in the past year. ATA reports that crude oil rocketed from $59.30 last February to $95.40 per barrel this year, up 61 percent, while the average price paid per gallon of jet fuel jumped 46 percent from $1.768 to $2.583 per gallon.

U.S. airlines used a little more fuel year-over-year, from 1.45 billion gallons in February 2007 to 1.48 billion gallons in February 2008. That was a slower pace than the 1.58 billion gallons burned in January.