KUALA LUMPUR: Asia-Pacific airlines face growing exposure to elevated jet fuel prices as older hedging contracts expire and carriers must decide whether to lock in new cover at higher levels, industry executives said.

The spot price of jet fuel is trading at about US$148 (RM603) a barrel, down from nearly US$180 at the end of October but still far higher than US$85 or so before the Iran war began in late February.

Wong Hong, director-general of the ​Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), said fuel now makes up about 33% of airlines’ operating costs, a share global industry group IATA had ‌pegged at 25% last year before prices surged.

Wong, whose group represents 18 of the region’s carriers, called ​hedging a “very, very tricky dilemma.”