United CEO Scott Kirby says higher airfare could be ahead after fuel price spike

BOSTON — United Airlines

CEO Scott Kirby said the spike in fuel prices since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday will have a “meaningful” impact on the carrier’s financial results this quarter, but he added that demand has been resilient.

Jet fuel, airlines’ biggest expense after labor, has surged 58% since last Friday, going for $3.95 a gallon on Thursday, according to the Argus U.S. Jet Fuel Index.

“If it continues we’ll feel it in Q2 also,” Kirby said after an event Thursday afternoon where he discussed the future of air travel at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

United, like most major U.S. carriers, doesn’t hedge fuel, a practice where airlines or other companies lock in prices using futures contracts or other products. A Boeing