United Airlines increased both its capacity and passenger travel volume in the quarter ended March 31.
United Airlines expects another record summer of travel this year, company executives said Wednesday (April 17) during United Airlines' quarterly earnings conference.
Compared to the same period last year, the number of revenue passengers increased by 6.8% and the number of miles flown by revenue passengers increased by 9.3%, which is the number of seats available for passengers multiplied by the number of miles the seats are scheduled to fly. did. United Airlines announced a 9.1% increase in a press release Wednesday.
Demand remained strong, with business demand increasing by double digits quarter-over-quarter, according to the release.
Andrew Nocera, United's executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said on a conference call that corporate travel was strong domestically and overall.
“This year, I think we had nine of the top 10 corporate booking days in our history,” Nocera said. “So, really, across the board. The industries that did the best were professional services, technology, and industrials. But I think the numbers were up for just about every sector this year.”
Domestic leisure travel is also “very strong,” Mike Leskinen, United's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said on the call.
During the quarter, there were 16 days on which the company transported more than 500,000 passengers. This is a record in the company's first quarter history, according to a press release.
Nocera said on the call that both United Airlines and the industry expect to set new records for summer passenger numbers next season.
During the first quarter, United Airlines used generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on united.com to speed up customer searches and also enable real-time flight status updates to customers, according to a press release. We started using it in our flight status notification system.
In another service launched during the quarter, the company announced MileagePlus mile pooling, which allows customers to share and spend miles with friends and family, according to a release.
This option was developed for members who cannot earn enough miles on their own to take the trip they want and enjoy the benefits of the program, Nocera said during the call.
“The pool option gives us even more opportunity to do that,” Nocera said. “I think it will be a minimal cost to United, but it will definitely increase the value of the program.”
