The Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) share price hit the afterburners in May.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) airline stock closed out April trading for $8.85. On 30 May, the last day of trading for the month, shares were changing hands for $10.61 apiece.

That saw the Qantas share price up a whopping 19.9% over the month, and trading at another new record closing high.

To put that performance into some context, the ASX 200 gained 3.8% in May.

Here's what happened over the month just past.

What impacted the Qantas share price in May?

There were no price-sensitive announcements out from the ASX 200 airline in May.

But the Qantas share price overcame some modest headwinds to keep charging higher over the month.

One of those headwinds was an uptick in the oil price. Brent crude oil ended May at US$64 per barrel, up around 5% over the month.

If higher fuel prices are sustained, that could take a bite out of Qantas' profits. That's because jet fuel costs count as the second biggest expense for global airlines. But investors appear to have looked beyond May's uptick in oil prices, with many analysts still expecting the oil price to fall back to US$60 per barrel or below this year.

The Qantas share price also bounced back from the dip it suffered on 21 and 22 May amid the three-day Federal Court hearing. That involved the airline's illegal outsourcing of more than 1,800 ground handling workers during the COVID pandemic. Qantas faces a potential fine of up to $121 million for its actions.

What else happened with the ASX 200 airline over the month?

There was plenty of other action happening with the airline that may have grabbed investor interest and helped lift the Qantas share price in May.

On 6 May, the airline announced the addition of two new international routes. The new flights, from Perth to Auckland, New Zealand, and from Perth to Johannesburg, South Africa, will take off in December.

And likely catching ESG investor attention, on 14 May, Qantas – together with Sydney Airport and Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD) – reported the largest ever commercial importation of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) into Australia, with some two million litres of unblended SAF hitting our shores.

Qantas noted that SAF has the greatest near-term potential to help decarbonise the aviation industry.

Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said:

As the national carrier, we have a role to play in reducing the impact of air travel on the environment, but we can't do it alone. We pick up 70% of our fuel in Australia so we're looking forward to working closely with the government to chart the next course for SAF in Australia.

With the Qantas share price already having gained 3.2% in June, shares in the Flying Kangaroo are now up 79.3% in a year.