Rising flight costs aren’t deterring travelers

Flight costs are soaring as the war in Iran sends fuel prices skyward, but demand for air travel isn’t slowing. The price of jet fuel is about 50% higher than it was before the war began at the end of February, but airline executives representing Delta, United and American said ticket sales remain strong (even setting new daily or weekly records) and they weren’t changing their profit forecasts for their fiscal first quarters. Each airline reported incurring $400 million in first-quarter expenses, largely driven by rising fuel costs. American expects revenue to be up more than 10% compared to the first quarter of 2025. Delta expects first-quarter revenue growth to exceed 7%.