United eyes another blockbuster summer, but warns of headwinds to growth plans

18.04.2024 - 12:51 / thepointsguy.com / Scott Kirby / David Pekoske / United Airlines / Andrew Nocella

Another blockbuster summer awaits, United Airlines said on Wednesday, despite cautioning headwinds will force changes to the carrier's ambitious growth strategy for the coming years.

United reported a $124 million net loss during the first quarter. Though it's hardly good news, it comes with something of a silver lining-esque disclaimer: the carrier estimates it lost around $200 million in January when the FAA temporarily grounded its 79 Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets following an inflight emergency on an Alaska Airlines-operated MAX9.

"If the Boeing MAX 9 hadn't been grounded, we would have been profitable for the quarter," United CEO Scott Kirby told analysts during a conference call Wednesday.

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United on Wednesday revealed it has reached a deal for compensation from Boeing, the company said in a federal filing viewed by TPG.

United is forecasting far better results in the coming six months.

At airports this summer, expect the crowds to again set records.

"I think we will as an airline, and as an industry," chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella said, echoing predictions made on Capitol Hill Tuesday by TSA administrator David Pekoske, who said airport checkpoints may, for the first time ever, top 3 million travelers on some peak days.

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It's not just vacationers driving United's optimism.

The first few months of 2024 brought a somewhat surprising resurgence in business travel, following years of lackluster post-pandemic performance. United bookings made through corporate accounts surged 14% over 2023 levels in the first quarter.

Delta Air Lines reported similar progress last week.

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That business resurgence perhaps helped boost United in its "material rebound" at London's Heathrow Airport (LHR), executives said, where revenue from the carrier's Polaris cabin climbed 8% over last year despite 11% less capacity in London.

KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY

Suffice to say, though, it's not all positive news at United.

With plans to dramatically grow its fleet in the coming years, the airline is heavily affected by aircraft delivery delays at Boeing. Some delay concerns predate 2024, but have now been made far worse by FAA-imposed production constraints at the plane-maker in the wake of the Alaska MAX 9 incident.

United now expects to receive 65 narrow-body jets and five wide-bodies in 2024. That's down from 101 aircraft expected at the start of the year, and the 183 it was contractually supposed to receive by December 2024, the carrier said