CHICAGO, Oct 17 Reuters United Airlines Holdings on Tuesday forecast weaker fourthquarter earnings due to higher costs, sending its shares down more than 4.

The Chicagobased carrier estimated an adjusted profit of 1.501.80 per share in the quarter through December, below the 2.06 expected by analysts in a LSEG survey and lower than 2.46 per share a year ago.

A jump in fuel prices since July is pressuring profits at U.S. carriers. United has said its fuel costs have climbed over 20 since midJuly. The company39;s average fuel bill is projected to increase by 11 in the quarter through December from the last quarter.

Meanwhile, a reduction in capacity due to the suspension of flights to Israel is expected to add to United39;s nonfuel costs, which are projected to be up as much as 5 in the December quarter from a year ago.

United, which has the biggest exposure to Israel among the U.S. carriers, has suspended flights to Tel Aviv until conditions allow them to resume. In the December quarter, Israel accounted for 1.9 of its planned global capacity, a Reuters analysis of Cirium data showed.

The company39;s shares were down 1.84 at 38.28 in extended trading.

Rising costs as well as signs of softening domestic travel demand have raised worries about the industry39;s profitability, sparking a selloff in airline stocks and prompting analysts to slash their earnings estimates.

Rival Delta Air Lines said last week the travel boom is not over. United39;s earnings report…