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United Airlines: Profit is challenging to determine since the impacts of inflation are being felt by several sizable businesses.
United Airlines has a bright future because of the rising need for travel, whereas most businesses are still deliberating on their outlook for 2023.
The news
Both the major airline’s first-half and fourth-quarter predictions topped Wall Street expectations.
The good news might be due to rising costs and soaring travel demand.
Due to customer demand for air travel and willingness to pay more, airlines are once again profitable.
The demand for air travel has significantly reduced the expenses of expanding networks, such as labor, fuel, and other expenses.
Aircraft backlogs and delays have also hampered airline growth, increasing ticket prices.
Revenue
In the last quarter of 2022, United Airlines produced $843 million in profit on $12.4 billion in revenue, a 31% increase over the same time the past three years.
Despite having 9% fewer flights, there were roughly 14% more revenues than during the same period in 2019 (pre-pandemic).
Despite unit expenses rising by 21% from 2020, the revenue assisted the airline in turning a profit.
The share price of United Airlines increased only 2% during Tuesday’s extended trading.
Despite the winter storms and delays during the crucial holiday travel season, the quarterly update is another encouraging indicator that airlines will end the year.
Other airlines
One of the main airlines, United, has heard reports of a successful year.
Last week, the earnings and sales of Delta Air Lines were higher than expected by Wall Street.
However, a greater expense driven by an unforeseen pilot labor agreement outweighs its anticipated first-quarter profitability.
For the fourth quarter, American Airlines increased both its profit and sales estimate.
On January 26, a report will be released.
Read also: Electric vehicles sales this year shows massive improvement
Fourth quarter
To demonstrate how United Airlines performed in the fourth quarter, Refinitiv aggregated average estimates.
- Adjusted earnings per share: $2.46
- Total revenue: $12.4 billion
These are Wall Street’s forecasts.
- Adjusted earnings per share: $2.10
- Total revenue $12.2 billion
2023 expectations
According to United Airlines’ estimates, its income from January through March 2023 will rise by 50% compared to the same time frame in 2022.
The airline anticipates first-quarter earnings per share of between 50 cents and $1.
Refinitiv reports that it is higher than the 25-cent analyst expectation.
United Airlines expects a 20% increase in flight volume in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.
The airlines forecast capacity growth in the high teens compared to last year for the full year.
The estimate indicates that the high price increase may continue to level off when airlines add additional flights since unit revenues (revenue per available seat mile) will remain the same as they were in 2022.
At an investor presentation, United said that a lack of pilots, antiquated technology, and labor concerns would limit the industry’s capacity.
Staff plans
Some airlines have plans to increase the number of pilots and crew members they employ in the 2019 fiscal year, even though the aviation sector is still struggling with a labor shortage brought on by Covid.
On Tuesday, United Airlines announced that the Calibrate apprenticeship program and the United Aviate Academy launched their respective operations in November and early 2022.
According to the airline, a significantly upgraded and expanded flight attendant training facility has opened in Houston.
There hasn’t yet been a new labor agreement negotiated between United and its pilots.
Their union has not signed a tentative wage raise deal between Delta and the pilots.
United pilot union
The pilots union of United Airlines is getting ready to pick a new leader after the outgoing leader retired.
According to CEO Scott Kirby, the election will be finished this month.
Kirby projects that discussions will resume around February 7 once the new leader is chosen.
He maintained that a pilot contract agreement needed to be completed immediately.
In its investor presentation, United stated that it anticipated new agreements with pilots, flight attendants, technicians, and airport staff to keep non-fuel expenses above the preceding year.
According to Scott Kirby, the Federal Aviation Administration’s most recent system failure is a case study demonstrating how the industry’s supply restrictions are a symptom of a larger infrastructure issue.
He said that the resources usually used to maintain aviation infrastructure were being taxed by the FAA’s utilization of space and the deployment of drones.
“They’ve had to rob Peter to pay Paul,” said Kirby. “They just don’t have enough resources.”
Kirby added that he travels to Washington, DC, twice a month to advocate for increased funding.
Reference:
United results top estimates a demand remains resilient despite high fares
