United Airlines has continued its strong recovery, posting a third quarter financial performance ahead of Wall Street expectations.
The company posted a third quarter profit of $1.3bn, with total operating revenue ahead by 2.6% at $15.2bn. United said the momentum has carried into the final three months of the year and it expects to post its highest ever quarterly operating revenue in this fourth quarter.
“We’ve invested in customers at every price point: Seatback screens, an industry-leading mobile app, extra legroom, a lie-flat United Polaris seat, and fast, free, reliable Starlink on every plane by 2027. Our customers value the United experience, making them increasingly loyal to United,” CEO Scott Kirby said.
“Those investments over almost a decade, combined with great service from our people, have allowed United to win and retain brand-loyal customers, leading to economic resilience even with macro economic volatility through the first three quarters of the year and significant upside as the economy and demand are improving in the fourth quarter.”
United continues to make significant investments in winning brand-loyal customers, including more than $1 billion planned on enhancements including Starlink installations, seatback screens, and 25% more on food. Over half of the United narrowbody fleet now has its signature interior and seatback screens, leading to a 15-point increase in customer satisfaction with the inflight entertainment system since third quarter 2022. United plans to invest an additional $1 billion in the customer experience in 2026.
Meanwhile, United and JetBlue have jointly launched the first major customer benefit from their Blue Sky collaboration: loyalty members of both airlines can now earn and redeem points or miles across each other’s networks.
Loyalty Earn and Redeem Across Both Airlines
Effective today:
- TrueBlue members can earn points and redeem them for flights across United’s global network, including United Express.
- MileagePlus members can earn and redeem miles on most flights across JetBlue’s network of top leisure destinations.
