United’s Fuel Bill Rose 62%. Higher Fare Yields Show the Pass-Through.

United Airlines cut its 2026 profit outlook on Tuesday, October 20, because fuel remains expensive even though people are still flying.

The carrier forecast fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 50 cents to $1.50 a share, under the $1.76 analysts expected. At the high end, full-year adjusted earnings would be no more than $7.22 a share, compared with the $9 to $11 it projected in July. It expects fourth-quarter fuel at $4.80 a gallon, up from $3.90 in the third quarter. The third-quarter fuel bill rose nearly 62%, to $4.84 billion.

Revenue rose 17.4%, to $17.88 billion. Domestic passenger unit revenue rose 14.5% and international unit revenue rose 17.4%, while passenger counts rose a little more than 2%. On Wednesday, chief executive Scott Kirby said United is passing about 72% of the oil surge through to customers and wants that share closer to 100%.

Could a United fare already include this fuel jump? The reported unit revenues say much of it is already in fares. No future fare schedule was published, and Kirby’s 100% target is an aim, not a new price list.