United Airlines Avoids Fuel Cost Hit to Earnings With Higher Ticket Prices

As fuel prices have risen in the past year, observers have wondered whether U.S. airlines would be able to pass on higher costs to consumers, many of whom had gotten accustomed to cheap tickets, especially between major cities where competition is fierce. But on Tuesday, United Airlines said it had no trouble in the third quarter recovering revenue without losing customers, telling investors it had “recaptured” nearly all of its increased costs through higher ticket prices, cost control and growth, while saying it expects to recover about 90 percent of its $2.5 billion higher fuel bill for the year. Until recently, many analysts considered United to be a laggard among the four largest U.S. carriers, with some asking if the airline would ever catch its peers, especially Delta Air Lines, on key financial metrics. But in the