Aviation Fuel Spotlight: Oil is flowing, but Jet A didn't get the memo

Usually, a new record is something to celebrate. Not this month... 2026 has yielded several unprecedented peaks in retail jet fuel prices, and September's FBO reports to GlobalAir.com only raised that ceiling. Jet A's September national average finalized at $7.99, though it's worth noting that its live national average at the time of writing is well over $8.00.Not to be overshadowed, 100LL's September average landed at $7.59, officially setting its own high score for monthly averages. We're breaking records like a broken record now.Tensions in the Middle East continued to fester throughout September. Houthi forces took Perim Island and most of Yemen's Red Sea coast, tightening their grip on Bab al-Mandeb, though Windward continues to track ships traversing the strait. A drone attack that Saudi and Iraqi officials say was launched from Iraq shut down the East-West pipeline, the main bypass used to avoid Hormuz. Though back online, the pipeline has not returned to pre-attack volume.According to Reuters, oil is also moving through Hormuz itself, much of it aboard tankers with deactivated transponders. Kpler estimates shipments through Hormuz and the routes that bypass it reached nearly 80 percent of prewar levels in late September. However, refined products are a different story. Kpler puts refined flow through the strait at less than one-fifth of its prewar pace. On Sept. 26, President Donald Trump rejected Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.Brent crude spot and futures prices typically sit within a few dollars of each other. On Sept. 15, Brent spot reached $130.80 while Brent futures settled at $108.75. That is a roughly $22 gap that points to tight physical supply.Gulf Coast wholesale jet fuel topped out the same day at $4.705 per gallon, its highest price since April 2022. Wholesale began to ease after the Sept. 15 high, but retail continued to climb through the end of the month.Figure 1. Jet A Price Change by FAA Region, Aug. 31 - Sept. 30 100LL Avgas: A new high as gains slow100LL's September national average of $7.59 is up 8 cents from August, setting a new high, though only 4 cents above the July 2022 peak of $7.55.From Aug. 31 to Sept. 30, every FAA region's 100LL rose between 12 and 24 cents with a standard deviation of 4 cents. These month-end snapshots capture late-month movement that the national monthly average smooths out, explaining why regional gains outpaced the national average's 8 cents. The Southern region's 100LL saw the largest gain, up 24 cents, with Alaska close behind. Unsurprisingly, Alaska remains the highest-priced region for avgas, with a live average of $11.61 at the time of writing. Aside from brief dips, Alaskan 100LL has climbed steadily in 2026, rising $1.80 since January.The national average for 100LL has not seen a meaningful monthly decline all year. However, gains have started to slow. After rising 37 cents in April, 34 in May and 19 in June, 100LL gained just 13 cents combined from July through September.Jet A: Third record high of 2026When people say shoot for the stars, they really aren't talking about fuel prices. At $7.99, September's national average for Jet A set its third record high this year alone. That is 74 cents higher than a previous peak in 2022, but only 6 cents higher than the last high set this May. The national average for Jet A has exceeded 100LL's for the past seven months. September's average was also nearly 28 percent higher than a year earlier.We are entering October with a live national average of $8.26 at the time of writing, well above September's average Jet A price.Over the same Aug. 31 to Sept. 30 window and as depicted in Figure 1, every FAA region's Jet A price rose as well. Regions averaged a 36-cent increase with a standard deviation of 15 cents, though the rise was not uniform. Notably, the New England, Eastern, Southern, Southwest and Great Lakes regions rose between 42 and 59 cents. The Northwest Mountain, Central, Alaskan and Western Pacific regions rose between 16 and 27 cents. This past August, we saw a far more uniform gain across the country (standard deviation of 4 cents).Prices in four of the five fastest-rising regions started climbing in early September. Meanwhile, those in the Great Lakes region and the lower-increase group largely held flat until mid-month.It is worth watching U.S. diesel exports. The White House denied a Sept. 23 report of a planned 90-day export ban, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright has warned such a ban could raise jet fuel prices. Jet A and diesel are both middle distillates, so changes around one could affect the other.Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Premium holds above $2Blended SAF continued to follow Jet A trends, rising 23 cents to a national average of $10.23 in September. That is 6 cents lower than May's high of $10.29.Over the same window as Jet A and 100LL, every FAA region reporting SAF prices rose between 19 and 77 cents, and the patterns of increase mirror the regional split under Jet A.GlobalAir.com SAF reporting became substantial enough for analysis in 2023, and since then, the novel fuel has held a premium of roughly $2 or more over Jet A. That premium peaked at $2.99 in February 2024 and has gradually narrowed since, ranging from $2.42 to $2.71 in 2025, then $2.02 to $2.57 so far this year, with September at $2.24.The Big Picture: Retail is playing catch-upEvery fuel type rose in every FAA region that reports it, but not at the same pace. For Jet A and SAF, most regions with the largest increases started their climb in early September, while the rest held mostly steady until mid-month. 100LL, by contrast, rose more uniformly across the country.We're not out of the woods yet. Retail continued to climb after wholesale peaked in mid-September, so even if supply disruptions disappear tomorrow, relief may take a while to reach every ramp.Top Performing AirportsGlobalAir.com's top three most-viewed airport pages in the past 30 days were:Miami International Airport (KMIA) in Miami, FLSouth Bend International Airport (KSBN) in South Bend, INDallas-Fort Worth International Airport (KDFW) in Dallas-Fort Worth, TXTop Performing FBOsGlobalAir.com's top three most-viewed FBO pages in the past 30 days were:Colville Inc. @ SCCRick Aviation, Inc. @ PHFJet Aviation @ DJTCongratulations to our top airports and FBOs, and safe fueling everyone!GlobalAir.com's Airport Resource Center and fuel data analyses are based on the prices of more than 3,200 fixed-base operators (FBOs), reported directly by the FBO to GlobalAir.com. We do not accept fuel price updates from third parties. We hide and exclude FBOs that do not provide a price update or verification at least every 30 days to maintain pilot trust and database accuracy.As a result, GlobalAir.com offers accurate and up-to-date aviation fuel information.You can review live average fuel prices by FAA region by?clicking here, or compare fuel prices up to 100 nautical miles on the GlobalAir.com Fuel Map. Join us next month for another fuel data analysis and to find out which airports and FBOs have the highest performance on the GlobalAir.com Airport Resource Center.Learn more about GlobalAir.com's aviation fuel data by contacting Abigail Sheets [email protected].