United Airlines Cutting Hundreds of Flights After a Clear Warning to Customers

Earlier this month, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby issued a clear warning to travelers of what he expected to be an imminent price increase for plane tickets across the industry as the global price of oil surges due to the conflict in the Middle East. Now, it sounds like that will mean fewer flights, too.

This week, United Airlines announced that it would be cutting about 5% of its flights, which works out to be hundreds of flights per day, as the company charts a path forward with what it expects to be high oil prices for the rest of the year.

Kirby Issues Warning to Travelers

Earlier this month, as the conflict in Iran was beginning to raise oil prices across the country, Kirby warned that airfare was going to start to increase across the industry and that this price increase would “probably start quick.”

The good news for United is that it is uniquely positioned to be able to stay afloat amidst these soaring oil prices.

United has positioned itself as a premier airline with more high-income and brand-loyal customers. As a result, United will be better positioned to maintain higher margins and pass these costs onto its higher-end consumers.

United Cuts Hundreds of Flights

Though United is in a relatively strong position despite the high oil prices, Kirby announced on Friday that the airline would reduce its flight capacity by 5%, cutting hundreds of flights each day as a result of the soaring fuel prices.

“If prices stayed at this level, it would mean an extra $11 billion in annual expense just for jet fuel,” CEO Scott Kirby said in a March 20 statement via Aviation Week.

Kirby said that the airline is cutting about 3 percent of its flights during "off-peak" periods like redeyes and flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Additionally, the airline is canceling flights to areas that have been impacted by the conflict, like Tel Aviv and Dubai.

"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. To be clear, nothing changes about our longer-term plans for aircraft deliveries or total capacity for 2027 and beyond, but there's no point in burning cash in the near term on flying that just can't absorb these fuel costs," Kirby said.

Kirby went on to say that United is planning for the price of oil to go up to as high as $175 a barrel – nearly three times what it was in February, before the conflict.

"Our plans assume oil goes to $175/barrel and doesn't get back down to $100/barrel until the end of 2027. Honestly, I think there's a good chance it won't be that bad, but as you'll read below, there isn't much downside for us to preparing for that outcome," Kirby wrote.

Needless to say, it's clear that this is going to drastically impact the industry.