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5h ago

United Trims 5% of Q2–Q3 Schedule as Fuel Prices Soar

A jet‑fuel price spike tied to Strait of Hormuz disruptions is forcing airlines to pass on higher costs.

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Members from Kataib Hezbollah attend the funeral of their colleagues who were killed in a U.S. airstrike in Qaim province, according to their statement, in Najaf, Iraq, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)
People take shelter in an Underground tunnel as air raid sirens signal a warning of incoming Iranian missiles in Jerusalem, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A United Airlines 767-300ER is seen at a gate with the Manhattan skyline in the background at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on March 18, 2026. US airport security officers missed their first full paycheck on March 13 as a partial funding shutdown of the government approached the one-month mark, with no breakthrough in a congressional standoff that is beginning to disrupt travel across the country. The lapse in funding is forcing thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff to work without pay as spring travel picks up, raising fears of staffing shortages, longer security lines and flight delays. (Photo by kena betancur / AFP via Getty Images)

Overview

  • United will cut roughly 5% of planned flying in the spring and summer by scrubbing red‑eyes and midweek trips, pulling about 1% of capacity at Chicago O’Hare, and keeping Tel Aviv and Dubai suspended.
  • CEO Scott Kirby told employees jet fuel costs have more than doubled in three weeks, warning of roughly $11 billion in extra annual expense if prices persist and scenario‑planning for oil at $175 a barrel with prices staying above $100 through 2027.
  • United says it aims to restore its full schedule in the fall, will not furlough employees, and will continue taking about 120 new aircraft this year as longer‑term growth plans remain intact.
  • Airlines worldwide are lifting fares and surcharges as jet fuel spikes, with IATA’s Willie Walsh warning of broad price rises and an estimated 8%–9% increase in global airfares if high fuel costs endure.
  • Governments are weighing relief measures as risks around Hormuz roil energy markets, with the UK preparing for potential jet‑fuel shortages and the U.S. temporarily easing sanctions on Iranian oil stranded at sea.