Some major US airlines may 'not survive' unless oil prices come down soon, experts warn
Source: The Independent
Saturday 28 March 2026 18:17 EDT
Some airlines could suffer major losses amid rising oil prices, according to industry leaders and experts.
The ongoing war with Iran has driven up oil prices worldwide, which means airlines are paying more than expected for fuel. As prices continue to rise, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby warned some airlines might “not survive,” according to The Los Angeles Times.
“If these other guys make the same mistakes they made six years ago (during the Covid-19 pandemic), and if the forecast about $175 per barrel is right, you’ll see airlines not survive,” he reportedly said. This comes after Kirby warned that jet fuel prices “have more than doubled in the last three weeks.”
“If prices stayed at this level, it would mean an extra $11B in annual expense just for jet fuel. For perspective, in United’s best year ever, we made less than $5B,” he wrote in a memo to United Airlines employees last week.
Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/us/travel/us-airlines-fuel-prices-iran-b2947727.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
who I am scheduled to fly in June for my annual visit to see my late husband's family. Besides that they're my favorite domestic carrier in general, they're also the only airline left that has direct service from Burbank to New York (and even that route only just returned after being suspended for a while). I LOATHE LAX and BUR is 20 minutes from my home. 
That's my ultimate destination. I like to stop in New York, stretch my legs and go hang out at the TWA Hotel (and hopefully this time the new JetBlue lounge!) for a few hours before I commit to that looooong flight. 
I remember driving from CA to NJ once with my folks when I was a kid, but back then we were allowed to ride in the back of a station wagon. Not sure my broken old body would handle that many hours in a car anymore, vertical or not!
back in the day... 
We field peons had to use Amtrak (pre-Acela era) and then hop on the Metro (with suitcases).
we took Amtrak to New Carrollton, MD, them hopped the Orange Line from there to Metro Center, then switched to the Red Line to go where we needed to go close to our hotel - all to avoid Union Station! 
our SEPTA system opened a regional rail line that went from downtown to the airport. So since I had been using the regional rail to commute to work for a few years, I actually used that airport line to get to the airport (would switch to that line once I got downtown using my usual train and it was an easy transfer). I also used my line to get to Amtrak's 30th St. Station. Much cheaper than a cab.
Now SEPTA has decided to rename our train/subway/trolley/Elevated lines to be referred to as "The Metro" (and renumbered those and the buses).
Thank goodness I'm retired.
I know people like that! And they are dead serious too.
mainly his non-fiction science books like "Asimov on Chemistry" and "Asimov on Physics", etc, but also a bunch of his scifi stories. I expect those whose minds operate on the level that his did, would probably hate to fly!