Overview
- United, which detailed its plan on March 17th, said it can fully offset higher fuel costs through pricing and stronger revenue.
- Jet fuel jumped to about $3.93 a gallon from roughly $2.50, creating about a $400 million drag on United’s first‑quarter results.
- Demand stayed firm, with United recording its 10 biggest booking weeks and March revenue per seat mile tracking about 14% higher.
- The airline is trimming some frequency and deploying larger jets to raise average seats per departure at hubs toward 170 to 180.
- Wall Street reset expectations in mid‑March, with price targets cut and Evercore calling the spike a “2.8‑sigma” shock as Delta and American each flagged roughly $400 million first‑quarter fuel hits.