Finnair hedges 82% of second quarter jet fuel, Norwegian Air hedges 42%

April 9 (Reuters) - Finnair FIA1S.HE has hedged 82% of its jet fuel cost for the second quarter while Nordic rival Norwegian Air NAS.OL has locked in the cost for 42% of its volume for the period, the carriers said while reporting March traffic data on Thursday.

Fuel costs have soared for airlines following the war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

• Finnair's fuel hedging ratio averaging 69% for April–December 2026.

• Norwegian said it has hedged 42% of expected fuel consumption for the second quarter at $679 per metric tonne, compared with 43% in the first quarter.

• Norwegian said it has hedged about 43% of fuel use for the second half of 2026 and 22% for 2027.

• Finnair said travel demand was supported by Asian routes, while traffic in the Gulf fell after flights to Doha and Dubai were suspended in late February.

• Finnair carried 1.02 million passengers in March, up 10.8% year-on-year, with its load factor rising to 82.4%.

• Norwegian carried 1.68 million passengers, up 6% from a year earlier, while its load factor rose to 87.7%

• Norwegian's capacity fell 6% year-on-year, while traffic rose 2%

• Norwegian's share price declined 3.0% by 0811 GMT, while Finnair's shares declined 2.1%.