United’s long-term strategy remains focused on winning brand-loyal customers

United Airlines reported on April 21, 2026 a first-quarter profit, delivering first-quarter pre-tax earnings of $0.9 billion, with a pre-tax margin of 6.0%, up 2.3 points year-over-year. United delivered adjusted pre-tax earnings¹ of $0.5 billion, with an adjusted pre-tax margin¹ of 3.4%, up 0.4 points year-over-year.

“These are results our employees can be proud of, and they show the resilience of our long-term strategy, even in the face of escalating fuel expense,” said United CEO Scott Kirby. “Our strong financial position and success in winning brand-loyal customers enabled United to quickly make tactical adjustments to higher fuel prices while maintaining our long-term focus.”

“Moments of uncertainty for the airline industry may also create opportunity for United,” Kirby said. “We have demonstrated quarter after quarter that we are built to withstand disruptions, and this moment is no different. We’ll stay nimble in the short term while continuing to grow the airline and invest in our customers, product and people.”

United delivered strong first-quarter results despite challenges, including a $340 million increase in fuel expense compared to the first quarter of 2025. United’s capacity and revenue initiatives are intended to recapture this increase over the long term while maintaining the offerings that are winning brand-loyal customers.

United’s diverse revenue streams remained resilient, including premium revenue up 14% compared to the first quarter of 2025, loyalty revenue up 13%, and revenue from Basic Economy up 7%. Business revenue also remained strong at up 14% for the first quarter. The first quarter was United’s highest-revenue first quarter ever, with positive PRASM growth in every region.

Schedule under monitoring with flight cuts implemented

Oil prices remain volatile and elevated versus the start of the year. United has already begun adjusting its schedule for the rest of 2026 to account for higher fuel prices with an expected 5-point capacity reduction versus its original plan.

As a result, the Company expects capacity in the third and fourth quarters of 2026 to be flat to up approximately 2% year-over-year. United will continue to be nimble with capacity, with additional reductions or restored flying as appropriate to meet anticipated demand.

United expects to take delivery of more than 250 new aircraft by April 2028, and customers are benefiting from United innovations throughout every cabin. The airline announced several industry-leading customer enhancements during the quarter, including its planned “Coastliner” Airbus A321neo, the “Born to Explore” Airbus A321XLR, the new CRJ450 with its spacious United First cabin, and the United Relax Row across a row of United Economy®-class seats.

Starlink installations are accelerating and United expects to bring fast, free Wi-Fi for MileagePlus members to the whole fleet by the end of 2027. On April 1, United announced a new way to monitor TSA wait times in its mobile app. Nearly 1.6 million customers used this feature in the first two weeks after rollout.

United carried the most passengers in a first quarter in its history and achieved the best on-time departure rate for the quarter among the eight largest U.S. carriers. March was the fourth month in a row United achieved the best on-time departure rate among U.S. carriers. For the quarter, United’s per-seat cancellation rate averaged 44% lower than the next two largest U.S. carriers by available seat miles.

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