United Airlines posts US$646 million loss in Q4

CHICAGO: United Airlines lost US$646 million in the fourth quarter and said Wednesday (Jan 19) that the current spike in COVID-19 cases will hurt its results in the March quarter.

The airline said it expects its first-quarter revenue will be down 20 per cent to 25 per cent from the same period in 2019. Costs other than fuel will rise about 15 per cent on a per-seat basis.

The Omicron variant of the virus is showing up in United’s plans for 2022. The airline had once hoped to operate 5 per cent more flights than it did in 2019, but now expects to fly less this year than it did before the pandemic.

United said Omicron is hurting near-term bookings, but the outlook is better for travel in spring and summer. The Chicago-based airline said it is on track to hit long-term financial targets for 2023 and 2026.

Company officials are scheduled to discuss the results with analysts on Thursday.

United’s fourth-quarter loss compared with a loss of US$1.9 billion a year ago and profit of US$641 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Excluding special items, the company said its adjusted loss was US$1.60 per share. Analysts expected a wider loss of US$2.09 per share, according to a FactSet survey.

Revenue was US$8.19 billion, 25 per cent below the same period in 2019 but better than the US$7.96 billion forecast by analysts. Passengers flew 28 per cent fewer miles than they did two years earlier.

United lost US$1.96 billion for all of 2021, even after getting US$4 billion in federal pandemic relief to help cover labour costs.

The airline finished the year with 84,100 employees, down from 95,900 at the end of 2019.