US Gas Prices & Spirit Airlines Status — State-by-State Tracker

Update, 29 September. The US fuel story this autumn is diesel. The AAA national average reached a record $6.5276 a gallon on 22 September and stood at $6.453 on 28 September, up more than 80 cents in a month; the previous record, $5.8159, dated from June 2022. Regular gasoline is $4.477, up about five cents in a week. The spread between the two — about two dollars a gallon — is the clearest sign that the constraint is refined product, not crude.

The barrel is splitting. In the EIA’s week to 18 September, commercial crude stocks built 3.0 million barrels to 426.4 million, about 2% above their five-year average, while distillate fell 0.4 million barrels to 107.5 million, 12% below its five-year average, and gasoline fell 1.7 million. Refiners tilted toward jet fuel when aviation margins led, and the global diesel pool has lost Russian and Gulf supply at the same time as harvest demand and the heating season arrive. The EIA projects distillate stays below its five-year low through much of 2027.

Policy has entered the price. On 23 September the White House denied a reported 90-day ban on US diesel exports; Energy Secretary Chris Wright said nobody was considering a flat ban but voluntary measures had been discussed. The US is the world’s largest diesel exporter, so the question matters abroad: Europe and Latin America rely on US cargoes to replace Russian and Gulf product.

The global backdrop. The Strait of Hormuz is on Day 213 and rated CRITICAL. Iran tabled a seven-day reopening plan on 25 September; Trump rejected it on 26 September and indirect talks resumed through Qatar on 28 September without a deal. Brent settled $105.28 on Monday and WTI $92.60 — a spread of about $12.7 that reflects ample North American crude against a tight world market. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve stands at 285.0 million barrels, the lowest since 1982, after about 128 million barrels were drawn from early April.

Supply at the pump is intact. GEF has found no confirmed physical outages. Social-media reports of stations out of diesel in North Texas and Orlando on 17 September were reviewed and not confirmed, and GasBuddy said its own data showed no high-level outages. A red pin needs confirmed physical unavailability; record prices alone do not meet that bar.

AAA average retail prices for regular gasoline and diesel, 28 September 2026. The highest-priced states, the lowest, and a selection between. State differences reflect fuel taxes, refining geography and, in California, the CARBOB blend; the Midwest diesel premium reflects harvest demand meeting a short distillate market.

US aviation absorbed the jet-fuel shock earlier in the year and the acute phase has passed, but the cost has not. Legacy carriers (American, Delta, United) went into 2026 typically 30–50% hedged and have operated to schedule; JetBlue, which exited fuel hedging in December 2024, and Frontier both suspended full-year guidance in the spring. GEF has not re-verified carrier guidance or the IATA jet fuel benchmark since the summer, and does not restate old figures as current.

Spirit Airlines completed its wind-down in May after its restructuring plan, built on jet fuel at $2.24 a gallon, met fuel near $4.53. About 1.8 million May seats were cancelled and 17,000 jobs lost. JetBlue, Frontier, Breeze and others have backfilled its Fort Lauderdale network, and GEF now carries Spirit as a record of the crisis rather than a live disruption.

Cross-border routes: Air Canada’s Toronto–JFK and Montréal–JFK suspensions run on the published schedule to 25 October. Norse Atlantic’s Los Angeles–Europe withdrawal covered the summer 2026 season.

The proximate cause of every energy-flow story in 2026 is the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and a large share of refined-product trade passed before 28 February. Independent trackers put current flows at 3.7–8 million barrels a day, roughly half of pre-war or less.

The United States is one of the best-insulated advanced economies. The Gulf Coast refining cluster in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi produces more refined product than the country consumes, and the US is a net exporter of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. That is why there is no US availability problem while Europe, parts of Asia and Australia see tightness.

The exposure is to price. US refiners can sell abroad, so domestic wholesale prices follow global benchmarks. With Russian refining under drone attack and Gulf product constrained, the global diesel market is short, and US diesel follows it up even as US crude stocks build. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, drawn under the March IEA-coordinated release, is at its lowest since 1982 and is no longer a large buffer.

If you drive a diesel vehicle or run a diesel-dependent business, the price gap between states is large: $5.86 a gallon in Texas against $6.88 in Indiana and $8.40 in California (AAA, 28 September). Fuel before crossing into high-price states where your route allows.

If you are driving long distances, regular gasoline ranges from $3.94 in Indiana to $6.29 in California. On a 1,000-mile trip in a 25-mpg car, that spread is about $94. GasBuddy and AAA show station-level prices; differences of 50 cents a gallon within one metro area are common.

If you are flying, US carriers are operating to schedule with fuel costs built into fares. Air Canada’s JFK suspensions from Toronto and Montréal run to 25 October.

If you are travelling abroad, fuel conditions vary widely: France has had localised forecourt shortages concentrated in one retail network; Australia and the UK face record or near-record diesel prices without shortages. See EU · UK · Canada · Australia.