Overview
- Jefferies estimates wider GLP-1 use could save U.S. airlines up to roughly $580 million in fuel costs this year.
- A modeled 10% drop in average passenger weight translates to as much as a 1.5% reduction in fuel costs and about a 4% uplift to earnings per share.
- The four largest carriers are projected to face a combined 2026 jet-fuel bill of about $38.6–$39 billion, representing roughly one-fifth of operating expenses.
- Using a 737 MAX 8 example, Jefferies calculates that a 10% decline in passenger weight would remove about 3,200 pounds, roughly 2% of maximum takeoff weight, yielding meaningful fuel savings over thousands of flights.
- Novo Nordisk’s first obesity GLP-1 pill is already reaching patients, Eli Lilly’s similar pill is expected to gain U.S. approval within months, and a KFF survey found about one in eight U.S. adults use GLP-1s despite reported affordability challenges.