United Airlines capped a highly profitable year of operations with its three busiest-ever passenger-flying days coming in December, at the height of the North American winter travel season.
Reporting higher year-on-year revenue across its premium, corporate and economy segments for the October-December period, Chicago-based United said on 21 January that it also set company records for profit and passengers flown in the fourth quarter.
“United had a unique strategy coming out of Covid and our people have delivered for customers, leading to a structurally and permanently changed industry,” says Scott Kirby, United’s chief executive. “2024 was a strong year across the board.”
Indeed, the company appears to be firing on all cylinders, with almost all of its operating statistics – including passenger load factor, capacity and revenue passenger miles (RPMs) – trending positively compared with the same period of last year.
United’s fourth-quarter performance continues the trend of the “Big Two” – Delta Air Lines and United – raking in profits while fellow major US carriers American Airlines and Southwest Airlines lag behind.
United calls itself “the leading global airline”, though it did not overtake Delta in profitability last year. The Star Alliance carrier reports full-year profits of $3.1 billion, up 64% from the $2.6 billion it made in 2023.
Delta, the first US airline to report fourth-quarter results, said its international operations were boosted by higher-than anticipated demand while strong premium performance helped it cruise to a full-year profit of $3.5 billion, down from $4.6 billion in 2023.
United’s revenue from operating international routes rose nearly 9% over the prior-year period, with particularly strong growth in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
Notably, United’s cargo segment generated about 30% more revenue than in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The carrier ended the quarter with 1,406 aircraft across its fleet, up more than 3% from the 1,358 jets it operated on 31 December 2023.
American will report its fourth-quarter and full-year financial results on 23 January, while Southwest reports on 30 January.
