CHICAGO _ As the summer travel season kicks off, passengers could end up paying more to fly because airlines are paying more for fuel, United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz told shareholders Wednesday at the company's annual meeting.
Asked about the impact of higher jet fuel prices, Munoz said they were already putting pressure on fares.
Chicago-based United doesn't directly hike airfares when fuel prices increase, but "natural market forces" push fares up, Munoz said, and the airline has already seen that happen over the last two to three quarters.
"It's just a natural thing that has occurred in this industry," he said.
Despite the higher fuel prices, United has not changed its forecast for full-year earnings, Munoz said.
He also said the airline is looking at candidates to replace the airline's chief financial officer, Andrew Levy, who last week announced his decision to leave the airline. Levy was brought in from budget carrier Allegiant Travel Co. last year.
"He's always been an entrepreneurial guy. ... I think he came in and did what we asked him to do and what he wanted to do," Munoz said.
At the meeting, Munoz faced questions from United-employed catering workers in Newark, N.J.; Houston; Denver; Honolulu; and Cleveland who accused the airline of attempting to quash their efforts to unionize.
Munoz denied that the airline was threating workers involved in those efforts, but said the airline would "educate" workers about benefits currently provided that would become subject to negotiations.
"That's not a threat, just a fact," he said.
Catering workers in Chicago are employed by a United subcontractor and are already unionized.
Another attendee questioned the airline's decision to stop providing discounts to National Rifle Association members traveling to the organization's annual meeting in the wake of a February school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 dead.
One of the victims of that shooting was the daughter of a United pilot, Munoz said.
"It wasn't political; it was a little bit personal," he said.
