Ahead of tomorrow’s big aircraft order announcement, United Airlines has announced an expected return to profitability for July 2021.
United Airlines Returns To Profitability
Speaking in a pre-recorded message to employees, CEO Scott Kirby said:
“I’m proud to share that our business is profitable for the first time since the start of the pandemic. We expect a pre-tax earnings profit in July.”
Details were also revealed in an 8-K filing early this morning with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this morning.
United Airlines, Inc. (“United”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (“UAL” and, together with United, the “Company”), expects to generate positive adjusted pre-tax income1 in the month of July 2021, which would be the first month with positive adjusted pre-tax income1 since January 2020, before the start of the crisis.
Note that United Airlines will continue to receive payroll support from U.S. taxpayers until September.
The announcement comes at a key time for United, as it prepares to unveil a large aircraft order tomorrow in Newark. Rumors abound, but at minimum I would at expect:
- 100+ Boeing 737MAX jets
- up to 100 Airbus A321 jets
- additional Boeing 787 Dreamliners
Announcing profitability ahead of this announcement is intended to assure investors that United has a solid financial footing as it proceeds with a huge order.
Meanwhile, N27251, a United’s first 737 MAX-8 was delivered over the weekend from Boeing Field to Newark (EWR) where it will likely serve as a backdrop to Kirby’s press conference tomorrow.
In his message to employees, Kirby reiterated that United Airlines would emerge from the pandemic as the strongest U.S. carrier and pointed out that the wide body fleet of United is about the size of American and Delta combined, making United “the flag carrier” of the USA (a claim Kirby has made before).
CONCLUSION
Ahead of United’s big aircraft order announcement, United announced it will return to profitability…in a sense, a justification of the aircraft order. While the pandemic is not over, United’s positive progression offers a hopeful sign that the worst is behind us.
> Read More – United Airlines: We Are The Flag Carrier Of USA
A little tasteless to say “We’re profitable but keep giving us money anyway. “ Then again, Oscar had decorum, Kirby has spreadsheets.
@Christian, where did they say ‘keep giving us money’?
They’re returning the money? Good for them. My apologies, I’d thought that Kirby was an unscrupulous weasel but now I’m proven wrong. Thanks showing me that I shouldn’t be so cynical. I’ll endeavor to try for glass half full in the future.
VFTW just posted that my negative expectations were confirmed. Sigh, back to amoral weasel territory for Kirby.
Now now, don’t you guys mess with the King Kobra!
How about 200 A321, and zero 737 MAX? That would be better.