The ongoing high volatility in global energy markets, geopolitical tensions and capacity constraints in jet fuel production make it difficult for supply to keep up with demand, pushing prices up.
The US aviation industry is being challenged by sharp increases in jet fuel prices despite strong revenues and revived passenger demand.
The financial statements and year-end expectations of the industry's leading airline companies, such as Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Air Group, which published their third quarter balance sheets this month, reveal the pressure put on profitability by increasing operational costs.
Record revenues are overshadowed by high energy prices as passengers continue to spend on travel and experience.
Jet fuel is the largest expense item for airline companies after labor costs.
Delta Air Lines forecasts lower profits compared to last year
Delta Air Lines announced in its balance sheet for the third quarter of this year that it broke a "record" with adjusted revenue of $17.6 billion, thanks to broad demand and strong ticket returns.
Stating that it is experiencing "one of the highest fuel cost environments of recent times", the company's fuel expenses reached 4.1 billion dollars, an increase of 62 percent compared to last year. The average fuel price paid by Delta per gallon increased by 60 percent to $3.61.
Delta Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ed Bastian stated that the company's resilient structure played a key role in managing this difficult process, and that they expect to end the year with a pre-tax profit of around 4.5 billion dollars by enduring a total fuel cost increase of 6 billion dollars throughout the year. The company made a pre-tax profit of $6.2 billion in 2025.
United Airlines' fuel bill increased 62 percent in the third quarter
United Airlines also achieved revenue growth of 17 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year and achieved record revenue of $17.9 billion.
Despite record revenues driven by double-digit increases in premium cabin and corporate travel sales, rising fuel bills weighed on profitability.
The company's fuel expenses increased by 1.8 billion dollars (62 percent) compared to last year due to the impact of market fluctuations.
United Airlines, which paid an average jet fuel price of $3.90 per gallon in the third quarter, reported that it plans to accelerate revenue growth in the last quarter of the year despite the highly inflationary energy environment.
While United Airlines said it forecast adjusted earnings of 50 cents to $1.50 per share for the final quarter of the year, this forecast fell below analyst expectations.
Analysts pointed out that even if the company earns earnings at the upper end of that range, profit per share for 2026 overall will not be more than $7.22. The company reported in July that it expected a profit of $9 to $11 for the year.
Alaska Air Group posts loss despite strong revenue growth
Alaska Air Group, which includes Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air, reported a quarterly loss and revised its year-end expectations downwards due to the increasing fuel bill, despite achieving strong revenue growth driven by passenger demand.
The company's aviation fuel expenses in the third quarter climbed to $1.2 billion, a 60 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Despite strong revenue growth, Alaska Air Group reported a third-quarter loss of $1.32 per share due to a sharp increase in fuel costs.
While the average fuel cost paid per gallon during this period was calculated as $3.94, the company predicted that this figure would increase to $4.65 to $4.85 in the fourth quarter.
Alaska Air Group CEO Ben Minicucci stated that they faced a total of 1.8 billion dollars in additional fuel costs throughout the year.
The company announced that it expects adjusted loss per share to be $2-2.5 in the fourth quarter, and that it expects to close this year with an adjusted net loss of $5-5.50 per share.
Southwest Airlines lowers profit forecast
Southwest Airlines broke the quarterly record in company history by generating $8.4 billion in operating income in the third quarter, a 21 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Despite its strong income statement, the company faced a high fuel cost on its balance sheet and paid $821 million more in fuel bills in the third quarter compared to the same period of 2025.
The fuel cost the company paid per gallon increased to $3.92. Southwest, which posted an adjusted net profit of $328 million despite the challenging inflationary energy environment, said it expects fuel costs to reach $4.55 per gallon in the fourth quarter.
While Southwest Airlines noted that it expected earnings per share between $2.60 and $2.85 in 2026, it was noteworthy that this amount remained below the range estimated in the previous quarter.
American Airlines expects to end the year with a loss despite record revenue in the third quarter
American Airlines' revenue increased by 19.3 percent in the third quarter of the year compared to the same period last year, reaching $16.34 billion, reaching a record level.
The company's fuel expenses increased by 67.5 percent on an annual basis during this period, reaching 4.64 billion dollars. American Airlines broke even on average fuel costs of $3.85 per gallon in the third quarter.
While American Airlines announced a net loss of $269 million in the third quarter of the year, its loss per share was 41 cents.
The company stated that it expected its revenue to increase by 19.5 percent to 22.5 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year, and predicted that its loss per share would be between 50 cents and $1.10.
While American Airlines estimated that its loss per share would be between $1 and $1.60 for the whole of 2026, this expectation was below the July forecast.
The company also noted that it expects the growth in its flight network to slow down in 2027 compared to this year due to high fuel prices.
Aviation fuel price doubled in 1 year
According to Consumer Price Index (CPI) data published by the US Department of Labor, the cost of jet fuel increased by 104 percent in September compared to the same month last year. In September, flight ticket prices increased by 22.4 percent on an annual basis.
According to the data of the Ministry of Transportation, US airline companies, which paid a total energy bill of 3.85 billion dollars in August last year, undertook the fuel cost of 6.17 billion dollars in the same month this year. During this period, fuel costs per gallon also increased from $2.30 to $3.72.
