The CEO of United Airlines Scott Kirby has said that despite jet fuel prices having more than doubled in the last three weeks, the carrier has no plans to furlough staff or defer aircraft orders.
In a message to staff published on the United Airlines website, Kirby said the airline will “remain focused on the long term” and “stay ahead of the curve”.
“Many of you will remember in United’s past that storm clouds like this caused United to furlough employees, defer aircraft orders, downgrade to regional jets, go through cost cutting exercises, delay investments in the future, etc. We are NOT going to do that. We have the financial firepower to continue to stay focused on the long term,” wrote Kirby on March 20, 2026.
He spelled out that if prices stayed at this level, it would mean an extra $11 billion in annual expense just for jet fuel.
“For perspective, in United’s best year ever, we made less than $5 billion,” added Kirby.
Part of United’s plan to deal with the turbulence caused to fuel prices by the war Iran include an assumption that oil will rise to $175 per barrel and will not get back down to $100 per barrel until the end of 2027.
“Honestly, I think there’s a good chance it won’t be that bad, but there isn’t much downside for us to preparing for that outcome,” explained Kirby.
In the short term, United’s plan will mean “tactically pruning flying that’s temporarily unprofitable in the face of high oil prices”.
“We are canceling about 3 points of flying in off peak periods (think redeyes, Tues/Wed/Sat flying) during Q2 and Q3 and we’ll pull a point of capacity in ORD when the FAA process concludes. We’ve pulled TLV and DXB service, which represents about another 1 point of capacity. That’s about 5 points of this year’s planned capacity in the short term, and our current plan is to restore the full schedule this fall,” wrote Kirby.
Concluding his message to staff Kirby wrote: “I want you to sleep well at night knowing United prepared for this and I’m asking you to stay 100% focused on what you’ve been doing to take care of each other and our customers.”
You can read Scott Kirby’s full statement on the United Airlines website.
