According to its latest report released on January 22, United Airlines‘ financial performance resulted in profit at year-end in 2023. This is good news for the company, which made 2.618 billion US dollars in the 12 months up to December 31 2023, over 3 times more than the 737 million US dollars made in the previous year.
This shows that the airline has significantly improved profit over the previous year. In addition, United Airlines has continued to make a profit in the fourth quarter of this year. However, the profit, which was 600 million US dollars, appears to be 28.8% less than the 843 million US dollars. Nevertheless, United Airlines has made a profit in 3 consecutive quarters, and the profit for the year was a significant increase compared to the previous year.
As we know, the situation has not been easy for the airline industry. As with many airlines, United Airlines’ financial performance was heavily affected by the pandemic. When the pandemic struck, governments worldwide restricted foreign travel, which meant that airlines made heavy losses. Even United Airlines’ financial performance has recovered more this year because it has taken more time due to having to recover from losses during the pandemic.
To make matters worse, there were staff shortages after pandemic restrictions were lifted because many were laid off when demand was lower during the pandemic. As a result, airports and airlines found it difficult to deal with the surge in flight demand during this time. Because of this, there was mass congestion at airports, leading to flight delays and cancellations. In North America, the Independence Day weekend was heavily marred by mass flight delays and cancellations in the US and Canada. As we know, there have also been further issues with fuel price rises due to the war in Ukraine and adverse weather patterns such as Storm Elliot.
United Airlines Revenue
United Airlines’ financial performance at year-end has resulted in a figure of 53.717 billion US dollars in revenue. This is a 19.5% increase on the previous year’s revenue of 44.955 billion US dollars. This shows that United Airline’s popularity with customers has increased significantly. However, the fact that profitability has increased by much more (over 3 times) indicates that cost control has improved significantly, which is also good news for United Airlines.
In response to United Airlines’ financial performance, its Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby has thanked staff for their hard work. Despite what he calls unpredictable headwinds, they have set new operational records for their customers. It appears, for example, that United Airlines, in the three months up to December 31 2023, had the best fourth quarter in terms of on-time performance.
Supporting SAF Research
United Airlines’ financial performance over the past year has been strong, and as one can see, the company is also doing well in terms of service delivery (operationally). In addition, however, it has also launched the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund, which is a fund that is a first in gaining support from businesses in the industry for assisting start-ups focused on de-carbonizing air travel through research on SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) as well as the technology and production associated with it. As we know, many airlines have adopted SAF, but it is still expensive to produce.
As we can see, United Airlines’ financial performance has improved significantly over the past year. In addition, the airline has also set company records in terms of its service delivery and is positively contributing to environmental research. This is good news for United Airlines. We have to wait to see how this progresses.
