"It's making me nervous," said Ray Neidl, an analyst with Calyon Securities. "Most days it's over $70 a barrel I become very nervous."
Oil is the second largest expense for most airlines -- which start reporting first quarter earnings this week -- after labor.
Now that airlines are having to lock in fuel prices for the next few months, a lock in at 70 dollars a barrel could hit the airline sector very hard this summer. Most of the airline stocks were down this morning in trading.
American Airlines and Continental Airlines will both report their first quarter earnings later this week. Followed by the rest of the major carriers.
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