Delta Air Lines plans to spend an extra $2 billion on fuel in the three months ending in June because the war with Iran has pushed up jet fuel prices sharply, but the company says it still expects to earn a sizable profit.
The airline said it would cut about 3.5 percent of flights in the second quarter to make up for the higher costs, undoing growth plans it had put in place earlier. That, along with higher fares and fees, should help the airline recover up to half of the higher fuel costs, Ed Bastian, its chief executive, said on a call with reporters before President Trump announced a cease-fire agreement with Iran on Tuesday evening.
It was not immediately clear on Wednesday exactly how the pause in hostilities would affect airlines like Delta, though it is likely to lead to lower prices for crude oil and jet fuel.
Delta said it expected to earn a profit of about $1 billion, before taxes, in the current quarter, with revenue expected to increase at least 10 percent from a year ago. The forecast underscores the resilience of demand for flights despite higher ticket prices.
“The demand set has been strong across all geographies, across all products, categories,” Mr. Bastian said. “It’s a healthy travel time.”
Delta on Wednesday reported $15.9 billion in revenue for the first three months of the year. Revenue was strong across its business, but sales of lucrative premium seats and spending on the airline’s credit cards were particularly robust. The airline reported a small quarterly loss of $289 million.
After adjusting for what the airline described as one-off factors, however, Delta said it had earned a profit of more than $420 million, a 45 percent increase from a year earlier.
Delta said costs other than fuel were up 6 percent from the first quarter last year, with a similar increase expected in the second quarter.
Collectively, U.S. airlines were hampered in the first quarter by an impasse in funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Transportation Security Administration. T.S.A. agents worked for weeks without pay, with some quitting or not showing up for shifts, contributing to hourslong security lines at some airports. Those lines began to ease last week after agents started to receive back pay.
Delta did not specify how much that disruption had cost the airline, but Mr. Bastian said it had resulted in a “stall” in business travel for a couple of weeks, which has since reversed.
Delta leads the airline industry in profits thanks largely to its strong focus on premium seats, which have been getting more popular in recent years. But the airline said revenue had grown even in the main cabin.
Mr. Bastian said the industry had raised fares twice since the start of the Iran war, which has disrupted global fuel supplies since the end of February. Airlines are barred from collaborating on prices, but because fares are visible to everybody, carriers tend to quickly respond to even minor changes made by other airlines.
In addition to raising ticket prices and cutting flights, airlines are increasing fees for checked bags. Delta said on Tuesday that it would raise the price by $10 each for the first and second bag and $50 for the third, matching increases by United Airlines. JetBlue Airways also recently raised bag fees.
Unlike other airlines, Delta owns an oil refinery, which supplies fuel to its jets in the Northeast. The airline said it expected a $300 million financial benefit in the second quarter because of the Pennsylvania refinery, which it acquired in 2012.
Niraj Chokshi is a Times reporter who writes about aviation, rail and other transportation industries.
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