(Reuters) - United Continental Holdings Inc (N:UAL) said on Friday that it expects to pay more per gallon of fuel in the second quarter than it had previously forecast as oil prices inch up and chip away at airlines' energy savings.
The Chicago-based airline estimated it will pay on average $2.17 to $2.22 per gallon of fuel for the period, including the impact of cash-settled hedge losses. This revises its guidance from last month that estimated United would pay between $2.10 and $2.15 per gallon for the quarter.
The price of benchmark U.S. crude oil is up almost 3 percent since United gave its initial guidance on April 23.
Still, U.S.-based airlines are poised to save hundreds of millions of dollars more on fuel over last year since the U.S. benchmark is down more than 40 percent since June. Fuel typically is an airline's largest variable cost, representing a third or more of operating expenses.
The airline also announced that the number of passengers it flew in April increased nearly 1 percent year-on-year, on an increase in planes' carrying capacity of 2.7 percent.
Its April load factor, a measure of how full planes are, fell to 81.4 percent from 83.3 percent.
The statistics include flights operated by regional airlines that United contracts.