United Airlines Expects COVID Recovery Trends to Continue
byDaniel McCarthy/即使通货膨胀和日益uncertain economic future, consumers are still paying to travel.
On Tuesday, United Airlines said there is no slowdown in consumer travel intent despite high airfares. The carrier, which spoke as part of the company’s third-quarter earnings call, said that it expects “fourth quarter adjusted operating margin to be above 2019 for the first time,” another marker in the continued recovery of the travel industry.
According to United, which achieved operating revenue growth of 13.2% versus third quarter 2019, there are three trends that will continue to drive air travel demand despite those economic headwinds—air travel is still very much in the recovery phase and has not reached its peak, hybrid work continues to give consumers more opportunity to travel for leisure, and supply challenges will continue to limit the industry’s supply “for years to come.”
In a statement, United CEO Scott Kirby thanked employees and emphasized the company’s optimism headed into what is expected to be a busy holiday travel season.
他说:“我感谢联合员工在本季度提供令人难以置信的表现,以照顾我们的客户,并通过大多数指标,这是我们历史上最好的运营季度。”
“Despite growing concerns about an economic slowdown, the ongoing COVID recovery trends at United continue to prevail and we remain optimistic that we’ll continue to deliver strong financial results in the fourth quarter, 2023, and beyond.”
The optimism is no surprise for United, a carrier that recently expanded its summer 2023 international schedule because of high interest from consumers.
In fact, United’s third quarter was highlighted by a continued expansion of some key routes, including adding a new direct flight between Newark/New York and Dubai in March 2023 and 120 additional flights for college football season.
该航空公司还与加拿大航空公司开设了一家新的合资企业,为两国之间飞行的客户提供了更多的透视飞行选择。