Breaking records is now becoming a broken record for jet fuel prices, which hit $3.94 per gallon in Rotterdam May 9 while striking just above $3.84 in Los Angeles and $3.82 in New York Harbor.

That's nearly double the price for May 2007 and an estimated 9 percent increase within a week for those markets.

The soaring fuel costs have taken most of the blame for the recent dismal quarterly earnings reports for air carriers.

Atlas Air, which lost $5.3 million in the first quarter, booked an added $30 million to costs beyond what the company was able to recover through fuel surcharges because to a nearly 50 percent increase in fuel price compared to last year.

Alaska Air reported a first-quarter net loss of $35.9 million thanks to a 45 percent increase in fuel costs.

For US Airways, fuel costs were about $260 million higher for the quarter compared to the same period last year. The airline reported a quarterly loss, excluding special items, of $239 million.

Michael Fabey / Traffic World