Rising fuel costs slashed Delta’s profit outlook despite strong demand

The Atlanta-based air carrier said in its third-quarter earnings report released on Friday that it expects its annual fuel costs to jump by $6bn, as ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran have sent fuel prices surging across the global aviation sector.

Overall, US airlines spent nearly $43bn on fuel in the first eight months of the year, a $13.2bn increase from the same period a year earlier.

On Wall Street, Delta cut its earnings outlook for the year to adjusted earnings per share of $5.10 to $5.60, down from its July forecast of $6.50 to $7.50. The midpoint of the new range is below analysts’ average estimate of $5.46, according to LSEG data.

Delta’s stock tumbled in midday trading as the trading week came to a close. It was down 1.1 percent from Friday’s opening price. While the stock has fallen 4.4 percent over the past five days, it has performed well in 2026, gaining nearly 18 percent since the beginning of the year.

CEO Ed Bastian said the airline had raised prices by roughly 20 percent this year and said those prices could be sustained even if fuel prices decline.

Delta Air Lines is the first of the major US airlines to report earnings and is generally more protected from price fluctuations than its competitors because it owns a refinery in Pennsylvania, which it acquired in 2012.

Despite higher prices, demand remains elevated, with 60 percent of flights in the fourth quarter already booked. Delta also announced several new international routes, including Seattle–Tokyo, Japan and Boston–Venice, Italy, as well as Austin-Paris, France, all beginning next year.

Bastian told the Wall Street Journal that holiday bookings also remain strong and that premium travel is growing, with premium seat revenue jumping 18 percent for the quarter compared with the same period last year.

Broadly speaking, premium flights can be a boon for major airlines, and prices in the segment are rising. Average ticket prices for premium seats across major airlines were up 11 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the Airline Reporting Corporation’s monthly report, which tracks airline ticket transactions.

But lower-income consumers are pulling back. US consumer sentiment is slumping, according to the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, which released its Consumer Sentiment Index on Friday.

“Overall, sentiment for lower-income consumers and those with smaller stock portfolios dropped steeply this month, groups that have fewer resources to weather increases in prices,” Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers, said in the release.

Delta’s report comes as the US summer travel season draws to a close, following reports that lower-income travellers would pull back amid rising prices. In May, 51 percent of Americans earning less than $100,000 annually said travel would be one of the first expenses they would cut, according to a report from consulting firm Deloitte.

United Airlines is the next major carrier expected to report earnings, with results slated for after the market close on October 20. Like Delta, United’s stock was down on Wall Street, falling 0.8 percent from Friday’s opening price.