Airfare tickets are set to soar just in time for the holiday season, as jet fuel pries rise to pre-pandemic levels, the United Airlines CEO warned on Wednesday.
Jet fuel prices are already up more than 100 percent compared to just one year ago, CNBC reports, with the price per gallon set at $2.3282 on Tuesday.
But Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, said that the prices may go up even further. He forecasted an average fuel cost of $2.39 a gallon in the fourth quarter of the year, as United expects a surge in bookings for the holiday season.
'You know I think in the longer term, it's always been the case at an airline that jet fuel prices go up, usually because demand is strong - and that's going to be true again,' Kirby told the hosts of CNBC's Squawk on the Street on Wednesday.
'Higher jet fuel prices lead to higher ticket prices,' he said. 'Ultimately, we'll pass that through.'
United's competitor, Delta Airlines, last week warned that more expensive fuel would eat at its bottom line by the end of the year.
But United was able to post a $473 million profit for the third quarter, which ended at the end of September, thanks to $1.1 billion it received in federal aid.
Company executives said they expect its 2022 costs - excluding the price of fuel - to be lower than 2019, before the government instituted pandemic-related travel restrictions.
Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday he expects an average fuel cost of $2.39 a gallon in the fourth quarter of the year, as United expects a surge in bookings for the holiday season
Jet fuel prices are up more than 100 percent from last year, according to CNBC, and are set to increase even more as the holidays approach
United executives said they expect its 2022 costs - excluding the price of fuel - to be lower than 2019, before the government instituted pandemic-related travel restrictions.
Kirby also warned in the interview that the federal government's vaccine mandate could pose a risk to some of its rivals, which may force the airlines to cancel some flights amid a worker shortage.
He said that more than 96 percent of its company's staff is already vaccinated, as United imposed its own mandate in August, which put employees at risk of losing their job
