Leisure travelers packed planes over the vacation season, but by the end of summer bookings tailed off as the
Still, the company insisted that depressed areas of its business will recover and it will hit long-term financial targets.
Ordinarily United draws a large chunk of revenue from business and international travel, but both remain severely depressed. United and its closest rivals, American and
United announced last week that it will expand transatlantic service next year, including adding destinations it has never served in
Domestic leisure travel has returned to roughly pre-pandemic levels. That prompted United to announce this month that it plans its biggest domestic schedule of flights since
For the third quarter, United's
United said that excluding special items such as federal aid it would have lost
Revenue was
Last week,
United forecast that fuel prices will rise 12% from the third to the fourth quarter. It said other expenses will rise by 12% to 14% per seat in the fourth quarter — roughly double the increase that
Labor costs are rising as airlines scramble to hire more pilots, flight attendants and other workers in a reversal of last year, when the carriers were hemorrhaging cash and encouraging employees to quit.
United officials declined to comment on the report until they hold a conference call with analysts and reporters on Wednesday.
Shares of
David Koenig can be reached at www.twitter.com/airlinewriter
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission., source