United Airlines Reports Best First-Quarter Financial Performance in Five Years Despite Challenging Macroeconomic Environment

Q1 pre-tax margin up 4.9 points year-over-year, ahead of Wall Street consensus; up 3.6 points on an adjusted basis¹

Q1 pre-tax margin expected to lead the industry as United continues to attract more brand-loyal customers, improve the customer experience and demonstrate the resiliency of the business

Year-to-date² repurchased $451 million of shares 

United expects resilient earnings in Q2 and full-year 2025³ despite uncertain macroeconomic environment and is removing 4 points of scheduled domestic capacity starting in the third quarter 2025

Generated operating cash flow of $3.7 billion in the first quarter and over $10 billion in the last 12 months; Over $2 billion of free cash flow⁴ in the first quarter and over $5 billion in the last 12 months

Delivered best first-quarter operational performance since 2021

CHICAGO, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines (UAL) today reported its best first-quarter financial results in the past five years, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.

United reported a first-quarter profit, with record revenue of $13.2 billion, and total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) growth of 0.5% year-over-year. The company had first quarter pre-tax earnings of $478 million, with a pre-tax margin of 3.6%; and adjusted pre-tax earnings¹ of $391 million, with an adjusted pre-tax margin¹ of 3.0%. The company also achieved diluted earnings per share of $1.16 and adjusted diluted earnings per share¹ of $0.91, within the guidance range provided at the start of the quarter.

United continued to build brand loyalty in the first quarter and saw strong growth across its diversified revenue streams. Premium cabin revenue rose 9.2%, business revenue was up 7.4% and revenue from Basic Economy was up 7.6% year-over-year. International travel remained strong, with Atlantic RASM up 4.7% and Pacific RASM up 8.5% year-over-year. Other revenue streams such as cargo and loyalty remained resilient and were up 9.7% and 9.4% year-over-year, respectively. Forward bookings over the last two weeks have remained stable, with premium cabins up 17% and international up 5% year-over-year.

United believes our proven ability to win brand-loyal customers is a competitive advantage and will make United resilient in any economic environment. In response to the current demand environment, United is removing 4 percentage points of scheduled domestic capacity starting in the third quarter of 2025. United is also continuing to make prudent adjustments to the utilization rate of its fleet, including ongoing reductions in off-peak flying on lower demand days. The airline expects to continue this approach into the fourth quarter of 2025. Additionally, as previously announced, United will retire 21 aircraft earlier than previously planned.

"Our strategy coming out of the COVID pandemic was simple: Build the best airline in the world to attract brand-loyal customers. The people of United Airlines have executed and built that airline," said United CEO Scott Kirby. "United Next is on track and we will continue to execute our multiyear plan that has allowed United to thrive in any demand environment. It has given us industry-leading margins in the good times and we expect to expand our lead further in challenging economic times. Our ability to win brand-loyal customers and the resiliency of our business is a competitive advantage, and we are accelerating our investments in our product, service, technology and experience to further expand that lead."

Ongoing investments include the six additional gates at Chicago O'Hare expected to be awarded to United this fall based on a preliminary assessment by the Chicago Department of Aviation, due to United's continued growth and commitment to Chicago and O'Hare. The airline is also expanding at San Francisco and plans to have the fastest WiFi in the sky with Starlink installed on its entire United Express fleet by the end of this year. Customers will also continue to benefit from our technology investments such as new, more detailed connection information in the United app to help customers make their connection, and Spanish translations that led to increased digital check-ins for international travel.

United's operation started 2025 stronger than any previous year since 2021. In the first quarter the airline flew the largest schedule by available seat miles in its history, carrying a record of over 450,000 customers per day on average. United achieved the best on-time arrival and departure rate for a first quarter since 2021 and cut its seat cancellation rate in half compared to the first quarter of 2024. Running a safe, reliable operation continues to be United's top priority.

First-Quarter Financial Results

• Capacity up 4.9% compared to first-quarter 2024.
• Total operating revenue of $13.2 billion, up 5.4% compared to first-quarter 2024.
• TRASM up 0.5% compared to first-quarter 2024.
• CASM down 3.4%, and CASM-ex¹ up 0.3%, compared to first-quarter 2024.
• Pre-tax earnings of $0.5 billion, with a pre-tax margin of 3.6%; adjusted pre-tax earnings¹ of $0.4 billion, with an adjusted pre-tax margin¹ of 3.0%.
• Net income of $0.4 billion; adjusted net income¹ of $0.3 billion.
• Diluted earnings per share of $1.16; adjusted diluted earnings per share¹ of $0.91.
• Average fuel price per gallon of $2.53.
• Generated $3.7 billion of operating cash flow.
• Generated $2.3 billion of free cash flow⁴.
• Ending available liquidity⁵ of $18.3 billion.
• Total debt, finance lease obligations and other financial liabilities of $27.7 billion at quarter end.
• Net leverage⁶ of 2.0x.
• Year-to-date repurchased approximately $451 million of shares².

Key Highlights

• Announced updates and enhanced benefits to the United Family of Cards from Chase, with $800 to $2,000 in total annual value for cardholders, and welcome bonus mile offers for new cardholders.
• Received FAA certification for Starlink WiFi, with fast, reliable and free WiFi for MileagePlus members expected onboard certain commercial flights as early as May.
• Achieved our highest customer satisfaction scores for a first quarter, an increase of 10% year over year, recording our highest ever ratings for pilot communication, inflight entertainment and check-in experience based on the Net Promoter Score customer satisfaction scale.
• United operated its largest first quarter schedule by available seat miles in its history, carrying a record of over 450,000 customers per day on average, including nearly 90,000 on average in United's industry-leading international network.
• United Airlines Ventures (UAV), United's corporate venture capital unit that invests in start-ups developing innovative technologies for scaling sustainable aviation fuel and advancing the aviation industry, announced an investment by the UAV Sustainable Flight Fund in direct carbon capture startup Heirloom.
• Named to Fortune's list for Most Admired Companies for the fourth consecutive year.

Customer Experience

• Customers continue to adopt self-service tools for a more seamless travel experience, with digital check-in reaching a record high of 85% in the first quarter and kiosk check-in dropping to a record low rate of 8%.
• Saw increased engagement with the United app as 83% of customers used it for day-of travel needs in the first quarter, a 5% increase year-over-year, driven by in-app enhancements like Spanish translation and new, improved connection information in the Travel Mode feature for quick access to key trip details.
• Returned guest favorite Daelmans Stroopwafel for domestic snacks for flights over 300 miles, introduced a revamped meal service to long-haul Hawaii flights for all cabins, including themed entrees, and added hot meals for economy guests and sundae carts featuring Tillamook ice cream and other desserts for first class passengers.
• Uncorked the exclusive United Polaris® wine collaboration with Laurent-Perrier, becoming the only North American airline to serve Laurent-Perrier's La Cuvée, and introduced three new canned cocktails from Chicago-based Crafthouse Cocktails on domestic flights, in collaboration with James Beard Award-winning mixologist, Charles Joly.
• Named by USA Today to America's Best Customer Service 2025, and MileagePlus® was named to Newsweek's list of America's Best Loyalty Programs for 2025.
• Introduced inflight entertainment enhancements such as a Control Tower feature, allowing customers a unique view of an airport's airfield map.

Operations

• Achieved the Company's best on-time departure and arrival rates for a first quarter since 2021, and ranked first in on-time departures at United's hubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. among airlines with comparable operations at those airports.
• Recorded the second lowest seat cancel rate for a first quarter in company history, at half the rate of the year-ago period.
• United Express more than doubled its record of 100% completion days in the first quarter, at 21 days.
• Opened a state-of-the-art Tech Ops Training Facility at the airline's Houston hub and broke ground on a $315 million Tech Ops complex in Orlando in collaboration with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.
• Set company records for on-time performance and completion at line stations with at least 10 flights per day.

Network

• In the first quarter, United took delivery of its 1,000th mainline jet, enabling continued expansion of its premium offerings with 69,000 average daily premium seats flown across the system in the quarter, an increase of 7% year-over-year.
• Re-started service to Tel Aviv, Israel from New York/Newark, with twice daily service, more service than any other U.S. airline currently provides.
• United expanded its service to warm-weather, customer-favorite destinations, flying its largest ever first-quarter schedules to the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa, additionally operating its largest first-quarter schedule to domestic sun destinations at over 11 million seats.
• Launched its first-ever nonstop flight between New York/Newark and Dominica in February.
• Added or upgauged 210 flights to help customers reach major special events like college and professional football championships and Mardi Gras.

Employees and Communities

• More than 850 employees volunteered more than 6,900 hours at non-profit organizations supporting local communities around the world in the first quarter, with United's business resource groups hosting over 30 events in honor of MLK Day of Service and other volunteerism efforts in the quarter.
• As a partner of Airlink, United transported over 8,000 pounds of cargo to Los Angeles to aid those affected by the fires, additionally donating close to 15 million miles and nearly $400,000 for disaster relief with the support of United customers.
• United was recognized as a top employer, being named as one of Forbes' Best Large Employers in 2025 and one of the Best Workplaces for Black Americans and Women by Newsweek.
• Chief Operations Officer Toby Enqvist was elected to the Special Olympics International Board of Directors in April. He will build on the partnership United launched in 2017 that created the industry-leading Special Olympics Service Ambassador program, enabling Special Olympics Athlete Leaders to use their talents and develop their skills by helping United customers in airports.
• Hosted career day events for high schoolers at Houston and Newark hubs in collaboration with the Houston Texans and New York Giants to educate students on future careers in aviation.

Earnings Call

UAL will hold a conference call to discuss first-quarter 2025 financial results, as well as its financial and operational outlook for the second-quarter 2025 and beyond, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. CST/10:30 a.m. EST. A live, listen-only webcast of the conference call will be available at ir.united.com. The webcast will be available for replay within 24 hours of the conference call and then archived on the website.

Outlook

This press release should be read in conjunction with the company's Investor Update issued in connection with this quarterly earnings announcement, which provides additional information on the company's business outlook (including certain financial and operational guidance) and is furnished with this press release to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on a Current Report on Form 8-K. The Investor Update is also available at ir.united.com. Management will also discuss certain business outlook items, including providing certain second quarter and full year 2025 financial targets, during the quarterly earnings conference call.

The company's business outlook is subject to risks and uncertainties applicable to all forward-looking statements as described elsewhere in this press release. Please see the section entitled "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements."

About United

At United, Good Leads The Way. With hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates the most comprehensive global route network among North American carriers, and is now the largest airline in the world. For more about how to join the United team, please visit www.united.com/careers and more information about the company is at www.united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc., the parent company of United Airlines, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".

Website Information

We routinely post important news and information regarding United on our corporate website, www.united.com, and our investor relations website, ir.united.com. We use our investor relations website as a primary channel for disclosing key information to our investors, including the timing of future investor conferences and earnings calls, press releases and other information about financial performance (including financial guidance), reports filed or furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, information on corporate governance and details related to our annual meeting of shareholders. We may use our investor relations website as a means of disclosing material, non-public information (including financial guidance) and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. We encourage investors, the media and others interested in the company to visit this website from time to time, as information is updated and new information is posted. We may also use social media channels to communicate with our investors and the public about our company and other matters, and those communications could be deemed to be material information. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website or social media channels are not incorporated by reference into, and are not a part of, this document.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: 

This press release and the related attachments and Investor Update (as well as the oral statements made with respect to information contained in this release and the attachments) contain certain "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, relating to, among other things, goals, plans and projections regarding the company's financial position, results of operations, market position, airline capacity, fleet plan strategy, fares, announced routes (which may be subject to government approval), booking trends, product development, corporate citizenship-related strategy initiatives and business strategy. Such forward-looking statements are based on historical performance and current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the company's future financial results, goals, plans, commitments, strategies and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, known or unknown, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond the company's control and could cause the company's future financial results, goals, plans, commitments, strategies and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. Words such as "should," "could," "would," "will," "may," "expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "indicates," "remains," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook," "goals," "targets," "pledge," "confident," "optimistic," "dedicated," "positioned," "on track", "path" and other words and terms of similar meaning and expression are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such terms. All statements, other than those that relate solely to historical facts, are forward-looking statements.

Additionally, forward-looking statements include conditional statements and statements that identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of known trends or uncertainties, or that indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to us on the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law or regulation.

Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the following: execution risks associated with our strategic operating plan; changes in our fleet and network strategy or other factors outside our control resulting in less economic aircraft orders, costs related to modification or termination of aircraft orders or entry into aircraft orders on less favorable terms, as well as any inability to accept or integrate new aircraft into our fleet as planned, including as a result of any mandatory groundings of aircraft; any failure to effectively manage, and receive anticipated benefits and returns from, acquisitions, divestitures, investments, joint ventures and other portfolio actions, or related exposures to unknown liabilities or other issues or underperformance as compared to our expectations; adverse publicity, increased regulatory scrutiny, harm to our brand, reduced travel demand, potential tort liability and operational restrictions as a result of an accident, catastrophe or incident involving us, our regional carriers, our codeshare partners or another airline; the highly competitive nature of the global airline industry and susceptibility of the industry to price discounting and changes in capacity, including as a result of alliances, joint business arrangements or other consolidations; our reliance on a limited number of suppliers to source a majority of our aircraft, engines and certain parts, and the impact of any failure to obtain timely deliveries, additional equipment or support from any of these suppliers; disruptions to our regional network and United Express flights provided by third-party regional carriers; unfavorable economic and political conditions in the United States and globally; reliance on third-party service providers and the impact of any significant failure of these parties to perform as expected, or interruptions in our relationships with these providers or their provision of services; extended interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports where we operate and space, facility and infrastructure constraints at our hubs or other airports; geopolitical conflict, terrorist attacks or security events (including the suspension of our overflying in Russian airspace as a result of the Russia-Ukraine military conflict and interruptions of our flying as a result of the military conflict in the Middle East, as well as any escalation of the broader economic consequences of these conflicts beyond their current scope); any damage to our reputation or brand image; our reliance on technology and automated systems to operate our business and the impact of any significant failure or disruption of, or failure to effectively integrate and implement, these technologies or systems; increasing privacy, data security and cybersecurity obligations or a significant data breach; increased use of social media platforms by us, our employees and others; the impacts of union disputes, employee strikes or slowdowns, and other labor-related disruptions or regulatory compliance costs on our operations or financial performance; any failure to attract, train or retain skilled personnel, including our senior management team or other key employees; the monetary and operational costs of compliance with extensive government regulation of the airline industry; current or future litigation and regulatory actions, or failure to comply with the terms of any settlement, order or agreement relating to these actions; costs, liabilities and risks associated with environmental regulation and climate change; high and/or volatile fuel prices or significant disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel; the impacts of our significant amount of financial leverage from fixed obligations and the impacts of insufficient liquidity on our financial condition and business; failure to comply with financial and other covenants governing our debt, including our MileagePlus senior secured notes; limitations on our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes; our failure to realize the full value of our intangible assets or our long-lived assets, causing us to record impairments; fluctuations in the price of our common stock; the impacts of seasonality, and other factors associated with the airline industry; increases in insurance costs or inadequate insurance coverage; risks relating to our repurchase program for shares of common stock and certain warrants exercisable for common stock; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Non-GAAP Financial Information:

In discussing financial results and guidance, the company refers to financial measures that are not in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"). The non-GAAP financial measures are provided as supplemental information to the financial measures presented in this press release that are calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP and are presented because management believes that they supplement or enhance management's, analysts' and investors' overall understanding of the company's underlying financial performance and trends and facilitate comparisons among current, past and future periods. Non-GAAP financial measures typically have exclusions or adjustments that include one or more of the following characteristics, such as being highly variable, difficult to project, unusual in nature, significant to the results of a particular period or not indicative of past or future operating results. These items are excluded because the company believes they neither relate to the ordinary course of the company's business nor reflect the company's underlying business performance.

Because the non-GAAP financial measures are not calculated in accordance with GAAP, they should not be considered superior to and are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related GAAP financial measures presented in the press release and may not be the same as or comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies due to possible differences in method and in the items being adjusted. We encourage investors to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. The company does not provide a reconciliation of forward-looking measures where the company believes such a reconciliation would imply a degree of precision and certainty that could be confusing to investors and is unable to reasonably predict certain items contained in the GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing or amount of various items that have not yet occurred and are out of the company's control or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, the company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures provided without the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures may vary materially from the corresponding GAAP financial measures.

Please refer to the tables accompanying this release for a description of the non-GAAP adjustments and reconciliations of the historical non-GAAP financial measures used to the most comparable GAAP financial measure and related disclosures.

Change in Presentation:

In the first quarter of 2025, the Company changed its rounding presentation to the nearest whole number in millions of reported amounts, except per share data or as otherwise designated. As such, certain columns and rows within the financial statements and tables presented may not sum due to rounding. Per unit amounts have been calculated from the underlying whole-dollar amounts. This change is not material and does not impact the comparability of our condensed consolidated financial statements.

-tables attached-

 

 

 

UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS, INC.

¹ NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION

UAL evaluates its financial performance utilizing various accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) and non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures are provided as supplemental information to the financial measures presented in this press release that are calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP and are presented because management believes that they supplement or enhance management's, analysts' and investors' overall understanding of the company's underlying financial performance and trends and facilitate comparisons among current, past and future periods.

Because the non-GAAP financial measures are not calculated in accordance with GAAP, they should not be considered superior to and are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related GAAP financial measures presented in the press release and may not be the same as or comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies due to possible differences in method and in the items being adjusted. We encourage investors to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure.

The information below provides an explanation of certain adjustments reflected in the non-GAAP financial measures and shows a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures reported in this press release to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Within the financial tables presented, certain columns and rows may not add due to the use of rounded numbers. Percentages, ratios and earnings per share amounts presented are calculated from the underlying amounts.

CASM-ex: CASM is a common metric used in the airline industry to measure an airline's cost structure and efficiency. UAL reports CASM excluding special charges, third-party business expenses, fuel expense, and profit sharing. UAL believes that adjusting for special charges is useful to investors because those items are not indicative of UAL's ongoing performance. UAL also believes that excluding third-party business expenses, such as maintenance, flight academy, ground handling and catering services for third parties, provides more meaningful disclosure because these expenses are not directly related to UAL's core business. UAL also believes that excluding fuel expense from certain measures is useful to investors because it provides an additional measure of management's performance excluding the effects of a significant cost item over which management has limited influence. UAL excludes profit sharing because it believes that this exclusion allows investors to better understand and analyze UAL's operating cost performance and provides a more meaningful comparison of our core operating costs to the airline industry.

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDAR: We calculate Adjusted EBITDA by adding interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to net income and adjusting for special charges, nonoperating unrealized (gains) losses on investments, net and nonoperating debt extinguishment and modification fees. UAL believes that adjusting for these items is useful to investors because they are not indicative of UAL's ongoing performance. Effective January 1, 2025, Adjusted EBITDA is further adjusted by the fixed portion of operating lease expense, instead of solely aircraft rent as was the case historically, to calculate Adjusted EBITDAR. We believe this change provides investors with enhanced comparability to peers and better reflects our performance. The change in EBITDAR calculation methodology does not represent a change in management's expectations. Prior period amounts have been recast to conform to the current period presentation.

Adjusted Capital Expenditures: UAL believes that adjusting capital expenditures for assets acquired through the issuance or modification of debt, finance leases and other financial liabilities is useful to investors in order to appropriately reflect the total amounts spent on capital expenditures.

Free Cash Flow: Effective January 1, 2025, we define free cash flow as the sum of net cash from operating activities and net cash from investing activities, adjusted for the net change in short-term investments and the net change in restricted cash. We believe adjusting for short-term investments and restricted cash activity provides investors a better understanding of the company's free cash flow generated by our core operations. The change in free cash flow calculation methodology does not represent a change in management's expectations. We believe this change provides investors with enhanced comparability to peers and better reflects our performance. Prior period amounts have been recast to conform to the current period presentation.

Adjusted Total Debt and Adjusted Net Debt: Adjusted total debt is a non-GAAP financial measure that includes current and long-term debt, finance lease obligations and other financial liabilities, current and noncurrent operating lease obligations and noncurrent pension and postretirement obligations. Adjusted net debt is adjusted total debt minus cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. UAL provides adjusted total debt and adjusted net debt because we believe these measures provide useful supplemental information for assessing the company's debt and debt-like obligation profile. 

Net Leverage: Net leverage is a non-GAAP financial measure that is equal to adjusted net debt divided by trailing twelve month Adjusted EBITDAR. UAL provides net leverage because we believe it provides useful supplemental information for assessing the company's debt level. See the above descriptions of Adjusted Net Debt and Adjusted EBITDAR.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating and nonoperating special charges (credits) and unrealized losses on investments included the following:

During 2025, the company recorded $108 million of net gains primarily related to gains on various aircraft sale-leaseback transactions.

Effective tax rate:

The company's effective tax rates were as follows:

The provision for income taxes is based on the estimated annual effective tax rate, which represents a blend of federal, state and foreign taxes and includes the impact of certain nondeductible items. The decrease in the effective tax rate, in the three months ended March 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024, was primarily due to an increase in the excess tax benefits related to stock-based compensation.

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SOURCE United Airlines