United Airlines Reports Second-Quarter 2018 Performance
"We delivered great financial results and strong operational performance in the second quarter despite the significant headwind of higher fuel prices," said Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer of United Airlines. "These results are the strongest evidence yet that our strategic growth plan is working, and we are well positioned to carry our momentum into the second half of the year."
For more information on UAL's third-quarter 2018 guidance, please visit ir.united.com for the company's investor update.
Second-Quarter Highlights
Operations and Employees
- Completed the best second-quarter on-time departure performance in United's history.
- Received "Best-of-the-Best" Award from the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce and National Business Inclusion Consortium for commitment to diversity and inclusion across all communities.
- Announced a total of $8 million in grants to benefit organizations in each of its domestic hub communities.
- Became the first carrier to achieve certification through the new Audubon International Green Hospitality Program for the airline's United Club location in Terminal 7 of Los Angeles International Airport.
Customer Experience
- Expanded personal device entertainment option to all aircraft with DIRECTV live streaming for purchase, providing at least one free entertainment option on all Wi-Fi equipped aircraft (which is any aircraft with more than 70 seats).
- Opened three new United Polaris lounges located in San Francisco International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
- Announced a new relationship with The Private Suite, offering the airline's customers access to a newly built, private terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.
- Introduced the new United Explorer Card which offers additional benefits, travel credits and discounts.
Network and Fleet
- Launched service from Newark/New York to two new international destinations: Reykjavik, Iceland, and Porto, Portugal.
- Announced the return of seasonal service to 25 destinations, including, among others: Athens, Greece; Glasgow, Scotland; Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; Rome and Venice, Italy; and Hamburg, Germany.
- Announced schedule expansion at East Coast hubs in Newark/New York and Washington-Dulles to offer more nonstop flights to destinations popular with New York-area customers while reallocating largely connecting passenger flights to Washington-Dulles.
- Took delivery of one Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and six Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.
- Became North American launch customer of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, which took its first flight on June 7 from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Orlando International Airport in Florida.
Earnings Call
UAL will hold a conference call to discuss second-quarter 2018 financial results and its financial and operational outlook for the third quarter and full year of 2018 on Wednesday, July 18, at 9:30 a.m. Central Time /10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. A live, listen-only webcast of the conference call will be available at ir.united.com. The webcast will be available for replay within 24 hours of the conference call and then archived on the website for three months.
About United
United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,600 flights a day to 357 airports across five continents. In 2017, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 148 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 757 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 551 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol "UAL".
1 Excludes special charges, the nature of which are not determinable at this time, and mark-to-market impact of equity investments. Accordingly, UAL is not providing earnings guidance on a GAAP basis.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
Certain statements included in this release are forward-looking and thus reflect our current expectations and beliefs with respect to certain current and future events and anticipated financial and operating performance. Such forward-looking statements are and will be subject to many risks and uncertainties relating to our operations and business environment that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "will," "plans," "anticipates," "indicates," "believes," "estimates," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook," "goals" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Additionally, forward-looking statements include statements that do not relate solely to historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties, or which indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to us on the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the following: general economic conditions (including interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, investment or credit market conditions, crude oil prices, costs of aircraft fuel and energy refining capacity in relevant markets); economic and political instability and other risks of doing business globally, including political developments that may impact our operations in certain countries; demand for travel and the impact that global economic and political conditions have on customer travel patterns; competitive pressures on pricing and on demand; demand for transportation in the markets in which we operate; our capacity decisions and the capacity decisions of our competitors; the effects of any hostilities, act of war or terrorist attack; the effects of any technology failures or cybersecurity breaches; the impact of regulatory, investigative and legal proceedings and legal compliance risks; disruptions to our regional network; the ability of other air carriers with whom we have alliances or partnerships to provide the services contemplated by the respective arrangements with such carriers; costs associated with any modification or termination of our aircraft orders; potential reputational or other impact from adverse events in our operations, the operations of our regional carriers or the operations of our code share partners; our ability to attract and retain customers; our ability to execute our operational plans and revenue-generating initiatives, including optimizing our revenue; our ability to control our costs, including realizing benefits from our resource optimization efforts, cost reduction initiatives and fleet replacement programs; the impact of any management changes; our ability to cost-effectively hedge against increases in the price of aircraft fuel if we decide to do so; any potential realized or unrealized gains or losses related to any fuel or currency hedging programs; labor costs; our ability to maintain satisfactory labor relations and the results of any collective bargaining agreement process with our union groups; any disruptions to operations due to any potential actions by our labor groups; an outbreak of a disease that affects travel demand or travel behavior; U.S. or foreign governmental legislation, regulation and other actions (including Open Skies agreements and environmental regulations); industry consolidation or changes in airline alliances; our ability to comply with the terms of our various financing arrangements; the costs and availability of financing; our ability to maintain adequate liquidity; the costs and availability of aviation and other insurance; weather conditions; our ability to utilize our net operating losses to offset future taxable income; the impact of changes in tax laws; the success of our investments in airlines in other parts of the world; and other risks and uncertainties set forth under Part I, Item 1A., "Risk Factors," of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
-tables attached-
On January 1, 2018, United Continental Holdings, Inc. ("UAL") adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 (Topic 606), Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and Accounting Standards Update No. 2017-07, Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost. As such, certain previously reported 2017 figures are adjusted in this report on a basis consistent with the new standards. See the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by UAL with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2018 for additional information.
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED) (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
% |
Six Months Ended |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
(In millions, except per share data) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating revenue: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Passenger |
$ |
9,880 |
$ |
9,151 |
8.0 |
$ |
18,030 |
$ |
16,804 |
7.3 |
||||||||||||||
|
Cargo |
314 |
273 |
15.0 |
607 |
511 |
18.8 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Other operating revenue |
583 |
584 |
(0.2) |
1,172 |
1,119 |
4.7 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Total operating revenue |
10,777 |
10,008 |
7.7 |
19,809 |
18,434 |
7.5 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating expense: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Salaries and related costs |
2,878 |
2,842 |
1.3 |
5,604 |
5,478 |
2.3 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Aircraft fuel |
2,390 |
1,669 |
43.2 |
4,355 |
3,229 |
34.9 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Regional capacity purchase |
681 |
549 |
24.0 |
1,300 |
1,085 |
19.8 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Landing fees and other rent |
603 |
541 |
11.5 |
1,161 |
1,085 |
7.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Depreciation and amortization |
557 |
536 |
3.9 |
1,098 |
1,054 |
4.2 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs |
438 |
472 |
(7.2) |
878 |
926 |
(5.2) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Distribution expenses |
393 |
385 |
2.1 |
735 |
704 |
4.4 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Aircraft rent |
119 |
152 |
(21.7) |
246 |
331 |
(25.7) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Special charges (C) |
129 |
44 |
NM |
169 |
95 |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Other operating expenses |
1,428 |
1,381 |
3.4 |
2,826 |
2,690 |
5.1 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Total operating expense |
9,616 |
8,571 |
12.2 |
18,372 |
16,677 |
10.2 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating income |
1,161 |
1,437 |
(19.2) |
1,437 |
1,757 |
(18.2) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating margin |
10.8 |
% |
14.4 |
% |
(3.6) |
pts. |
7.3 |
% |
9.5 |
% |
(2.2) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Operating margin, excluding special charges (Non-GAAP) |
12.0 |
% |
14.8 |
% |
(2.8) |
pts. |
8.1 |
% |
10.0 |
% |
(1.9) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Nonoperating income (expense): |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Interest expense |
(177) |
(167) |
6.0 |
(353) |
(329) |
7.3 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Interest capitalized |
14 |
21 |
(33.3) |
33 |
44 |
(25.0) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Interest income |
25 |
13 |
92.3 |
42 |
24 |
75.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Miscellaneous, net (C) |
(166) |
(27) |
NM |
(118) |
(69) |
71.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Total nonoperating expense |
(304) |
(160) |
90.0 |
(396) |
(330) |
20.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Income before income taxes |
857 |
1,277 |
(32.9) |
1,041 |
1,427 |
(27.0) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax margin |
8.0 |
% |
12.8 |
% |
(4.8) |
pts. |
5.3 |
% |
7.7 |
% |
(2.4) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax margin, excluding special charges and mark-to-market ("MTM") losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
10.4 |
% |
13.2 |
% |
(2.8) |
pts. |
6.6 |
% |
8.3 |
% |
(1.7) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Income tax expense (D) |
173 |
456 |
(62.1) |
210 |
507 |
(58.6) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Net income |
$ |
684 |
$ |
821 |
(16.7) |
$ |
831 |
$ |
920 |
(9.7) |
||||||||||||||
|
Earnings per share, diluted |
$ |
2.48 |
$ |
2.67 |
(7.1) |
$ |
2.96 |
$ |
2.96 |
— |
||||||||||||||
|
Weighted average shares, diluted |
275.6 |
307.7 |
(10.4) |
280.2 |
311.1 |
(9.9) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
NM Not meaningful |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
STATISTICS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
% |
Six Months Ended |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Mainline: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Passengers (thousands) |
29,589 |
28,084 |
5.4 |
54,191 |
51,909 |
4.4 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Revenue passenger miles (millions) |
53,485 |
50,554 |
5.8 |
97,595 |
92,737 |
5.2 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Available seat miles (millions) |
63,061 |
60,473 |
4.3 |
117,859 |
113,527 |
3.8 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Cargo ton miles (millions) |
855 |
828 |
3.3 |
1,672 |
1,576 |
6.1 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Passenger revenue per available seat mile (cents) |
12.76 |
12.39 |
3.0 |
12.44 |
12.08 |
3.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average yield per revenue passenger mile (cents) |
15.04 |
14.82 |
1.5 |
15.02 |
14.79 |
1.6 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Aircraft in fleet at end of period |
757 |
748 |
1.2 |
757 |
748 |
1.2 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average stage length (miles) |
1,823 |
1,821 |
0.1 |
1,818 |
1,812 |
0.3 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average daily utilization of each aircraft (hours: minutes) |
11:07 |
10:46 |
3.3 |
10:32 |
10:16 |
2.6 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average aircraft fuel price per gallon |
$ |
2.24 |
$ |
1.62 |
38.3 |
$ |
2.17 |
$ |
1.66 |
30.7 |
||||||||||||||
|
Fuel gallons consumed (millions) |
885 |
867 |
2.1 |
1,656 |
1,628 |
1.7 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Regional: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Passengers (thousands) |
11,469 |
10,163 |
12.9 |
21,362 |
19,443 |
9.9 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Revenue passenger miles (millions) |
6,460 |
5,802 |
11.3 |
12,199 |
11,230 |
8.6 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Available seat miles (millions) |
7,641 |
6,994 |
9.3 |
14,820 |
13,748 |
7.8 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Passenger revenue per available seat mile (cents) |
24.02 |
23.72 |
1.3 |
22.73 |
22.44 |
1.3 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average yield per revenue passenger mile (cents) |
28.41 |
28.59 |
(0.6) |
27.62 |
27.47 |
0.5 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Aircraft in fleet at end of period |
551 |
475 |
16.0 |
551 |
475 |
16.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average stage length (miles) |
552 |
558 |
(1.1) |
558 |
565 |
(1.2) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average aircraft fuel price per gallon |
$ |
2.38 |
$ |
1.71 |
39.2 |
$ |
2.29 |
$ |
1.75 |
30.9 |
||||||||||||||
|
Fuel gallons consumed (millions) |
173 |
156 |
10.9 |
334 |
305 |
9.5 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Consolidated (Mainline and Regional): |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Passengers (thousands) |
41,058 |
38,247 |
7.3 |
75,553 |
71,352 |
5.9 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Revenue passenger miles (millions) |
59,945 |
56,356 |
6.4 |
109,794 |
103,967 |
5.6 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Available seat miles (millions) |
70,702 |
67,467 |
4.8 |
132,679 |
127,275 |
4.2 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Passenger load factor: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Consolidated |
84.8 |
% |
83.5 |
% |
1.3 |
pts. |
82.8 |
% |
81.7 |
% |
1.1 |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Domestic |
87.1 |
% |
86.8 |
% |
0.3 |
pts. |
85.1 |
% |
85.2 |
% |
(0.1) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
International |
81.7 |
% |
79.5 |
% |
2.2 |
pts. |
79.7 |
% |
77.5 |
% |
2.2 |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Passenger revenue per available seat mile (cents) |
13.97 |
13.56 |
3.0 |
13.59 |
13.20 |
3.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Total revenue per available seat mile (cents) |
15.24 |
14.83 |
2.8 |
14.93 |
14.48 |
3.1 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average yield per revenue passenger mile (cents) |
16.48 |
16.24 |
1.5 |
16.42 |
16.16 |
1.6 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Aircraft in fleet at end of period |
1,308 |
1,223 |
7.0 |
1,308 |
1,223 |
7.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average stage length (miles) |
1,460 |
1,475 |
(1.0) |
1,452 |
1,464 |
(0.8) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average full-time equivalent employees (thousands) |
86.7 |
86.0 |
0.8 |
86.2 |
85.6 |
0.7 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average aircraft fuel price per gallon |
$ |
2.26 |
$ |
1.63 |
38.7 |
$ |
2.19 |
$ |
1.67 |
31.1 |
||||||||||||||
|
Fuel gallons consumed (millions) |
1,058 |
1,023 |
3.4 |
1,990 |
1,933 |
2.9 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Note: See Part II, Item 6, Selected Financial Data, of UAL's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, for definitions of these statistics. |
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
SUMMARY FINANCIAL METRICS (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
% |
Six Months Ended |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
(In millions, except per share data) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating income |
$ |
1,161 |
$ |
1,437 |
(19.2) |
$ |
1,437 |
$ |
1,757 |
(18.2) |
||||||||||||||
|
Operating margin |
10.8 |
% |
14.4 |
% |
(3.6) |
pts. |
7.3 |
% |
9.5 |
% |
(2.2) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Operating income, excluding special charges (Non-GAAP) |
1,290 |
1,481 |
(12.9) |
1,606 |
1,852 |
(13.3) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating margin, excluding special charges (Non-GAAP) |
12.0 |
% |
14.8 |
% |
(2.8) |
pts. |
8.1 |
% |
10.0 |
% |
(1.9) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
EBITDA, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
1,816 |
$ |
1,990 |
(8.7) |
$ |
2,676 |
$ |
2,837 |
(5.7) |
||||||||||||||
|
EBITDA margin, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
16.9 |
% |
19.9 |
% |
(3.0) |
pts. |
13.5 |
% |
15.4 |
% |
(1.9) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax income |
$ |
857 |
$ |
1,277 |
(32.9) |
$ |
1,041 |
$ |
1,427 |
(27.0) |
||||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax margin |
8.0 |
% |
12.8 |
% |
(4.8) |
pts. |
5.3 |
% |
7.7 |
% |
(2.4) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax income, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
1,121 |
1,321 |
(15.1) |
1,300 |
1,522 |
(14.6) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax margin, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
10.4 |
% |
13.2 |
% |
(2.8) |
pts. |
6.6 |
% |
8.3 |
% |
(1.7) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Net income |
$ |
684 |
$ |
821 |
(16.7) |
$ |
831 |
$ |
920 |
(9.7) |
||||||||||||||
|
Net income, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
889 |
849 |
4.7 |
1,032 |
981 |
5.2 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Diluted earnings per share |
$ |
2.48 |
$ |
2.67 |
(7.1) |
$ |
2.96 |
$ |
2.96 |
— |
||||||||||||||
|
Diluted earnings per share, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
3.23 |
2.76 |
17.0 |
3.68 |
3.15 |
16.8 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Net cash provided by operating activities |
$ |
2,442 |
$ |
1,561 |
56.4 |
$ |
4,175 |
$ |
2,108 |
98.1 |
||||||||||||||
|
Capital expenditures |
$ |
755 |
$ |
1,089 |
(30.7) |
$ |
1,734 |
$ |
1,780 |
(2.6) |
||||||||||||||
|
Adjusted capital expenditures (Non-GAAP) |
783 |
1,247 |
(37.2) |
1,796 |
2,601 |
(30.9) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Free cash flow, net of financings (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
1,687 |
$ |
472 |
257.4 |
$ |
2,441 |
$ |
328 |
NM |
||||||||||||||
|
Free cash flow (Non-GAAP) |
1,659 |
314 |
428.3 |
2,379 |
(493) |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||
|
NM Not meaningful |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | |||
|
RETURN ON INVESTED CAPITAL (ROIC) - Non-GAAP | |||
|
ROIC is a non-GAAP financial measure that we believe provides useful supplemental information for management and investors by measuring the effectiveness of our operations' use of invested capital to generate profits. | |||
|
(in millions) |
Twelve Months Ended | ||
|
Net Operating Profit After Tax ("NOPAT") |
|||
|
Pre-tax income |
$ |
2,654 |
|
|
Special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (C): |
|||
|
Impairment of assets |
159 |
||
|
MTM losses on equity investments |
90 |
||
|
Severance and benefit costs |
63 |
||
|
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges |
28 |
||
|
Pre-tax income excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
2,994 |
||
|
add: Interest expense (net of income tax benefit) (a) |
689 |
||
|
add: Interest component of capitalized aircraft rent (net of income tax benefit) (a) |
260 |
||
|
add: Net interest on pension (net of income tax benefit) (a) |
10 |
||
|
less: Income taxes paid |
(24) |
||
|
NOPAT (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
3,929 |
|
|
Average Invested Capital (five-quarter average) |
|||
|
Total assets |
$ |
43,205 |
|
|
add: Capitalized aircraft operating leases (b) |
4,227 |
||
|
less: Non-interest bearing liabilities (c) |
(16,957) |
||
|
Average invested capital (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
30,475 |
|
|
Return on invested capital (Non-GAAP) |
12.9 |
% | |
|
(a) |
Income tax benefit measured based on the effective cash tax rate. The effective cash tax rate is calculated by dividing cash taxes paid by pre-tax income excluding special charges. For the twelve months ended June 30, 2018, the effective cash tax rate was 0.8%. |
|
(b) |
The purpose of this adjustment is to capitalize the impact of aircraft operating leases. The company uses a multiple of seven times its annual aircraft rent expense to estimate the potential capitalized value and related liability of its aircraft. This is a simplified method used by many rating agencies and financial analysts to assist with the impact of operating leases on financial measures like return on invested capital. |
|
(c) |
Non-interest bearing liabilities include advance ticket sales, frequent flyer deferred revenue, deferred income taxes and other non-interest bearing liabilities. |
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||||
|
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL RECONCILIATION | ||||||||||||||||||
|
(A) UAL evaluates its financial performance utilizing various accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) and Non-GAAP financial measures, including operating income (loss), excluding special charges, operating margin excluding special charges, pre-tax income (loss), excluding special charges and MTM gains and losses on equity investments, pre-tax margin, excluding special charges and MTM gains and losses on equity investments, net income (loss), excluding special charges and MTM gains and losses on equity investments, diluted earnings (loss) per share, excluding special charges and MTM gains and losses on equity investments, and CASM, excluding special charges, third-party business expenses, fuel, and profit sharing, among others. UAL believes that adjusting for special charges is useful to investors because special charges are not indicative of UAL's ongoing performance. UAL believes that adjusting for MTM gains and losses on equity investments is useful to investors because those unrealized gains or losses may not ultimately be realized on a cash basis. | ||||||||||||||||||
|
CASM is a common metric used in the airline industry to measure an airline's cost structure and efficiency. UAL reports CASM excluding special charges, third-party business expenses, fuel and profit sharing. UAL believes that adjusting for special charges is useful to investors because special charges are not indicative of UAL's ongoing performance. UAL also believes that excluding third-party business expenses, such as maintenance, ground handling and catering services for third parties and fuel sales, provides more meaningful disclosure because these expenses are not directly related to UAL's core business. UAL also believes that excluding fuel costs from certain measures is useful to investors because it provides an additional measure of management's performance excluding the effects of a significant cost item over which management has limited influence. UAL excludes profit sharing because this exclusion allows investors to better understand and analyze our recurring cost performance and provides a more meaningful comparison of our core operating costs to the airline industry. | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Reconciliations of reported non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included below. | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
% |
Six Months Ended |
% | |||||||||||||||
|
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) | |||||||||||||
|
CASM Mainline Operations (cents) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Cost per available seat mile (CASM) |
13.08 |
12.27 |
6.6 |
13.31 |
12.68 |
5.0 |
||||||||||||
|
Special charges (C) |
0.20 |
0.07 |
NM |
0.14 |
0.09 |
NM |
||||||||||||
|
Third-party business expenses |
0.05 |
0.07 |
(28.6) |
0.05 |
0.06 |
(16.7) |
||||||||||||
|
Fuel expense |
3.14 |
2.32 |
35.3 |
3.05 |
2.38 |
28.2 |
||||||||||||
|
CASM, excluding special charges, third-party business expenses and fuel |
9.69 |
9.81 |
(1.2) |
10.07 |
10.15 |
(0.8) |
||||||||||||
|
Profit sharing per available seat mile |
0.17 |
0.25 |
(32.0) |
0.10 |
0.15 |
(33.3) |
||||||||||||
|
CASM, excluding special charges, third-party business expenses, fuel, and profit sharing |
9.52 |
9.56 |
(0.4) |
9.97 |
10.00 |
(0.3) |
||||||||||||
|
CASM Consolidated Operations (cents) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Cost per available seat mile (CASM) |
13.60 |
12.70 |
7.1 |
13.85 |
13.10 |
5.7 |
||||||||||||
|
Special charges (C) |
0.18 |
0.07 |
NM |
0.13 |
0.07 |
NM |
||||||||||||
|
Third-party business expenses |
0.04 |
0.05 |
(20.0) |
0.05 |
0.06 |
(16.7) |
||||||||||||
|
Fuel expense |
3.38 |
2.47 |
36.8 |
3.28 |
2.54 |
29.1 |
||||||||||||
|
CASM, excluding special charges, third-party business expenses and fuel |
10.00 |
10.11 |
(1.1) |
10.39 |
10.43 |
(0.4) |
||||||||||||
|
Profit sharing per available seat mile |
0.16 |
0.23 |
(30.4) |
0.09 |
0.14 |
(35.7) |
||||||||||||
|
CASM, excluding special charges, third-party business expenses, fuel, and profit sharing |
9.84 |
9.88 |
(0.4) |
10.30 |
10.29 |
0.1 |
||||||||||||
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL RECONCILIATION (Continued) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
$ |
% |
Six Months Ended |
$ |
% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
(in millions) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
(Decrease) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
(Decrease) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating expenses |
$ |
9,616 |
$ |
8,571 |
$ |
1,045 |
12.2 |
$ |
18,372 |
$ |
16,677 |
$ |
1,695 |
10.2 |
||||||||||||||||
|
Special charges (C) |
129 |
44 |
85 |
NM |
169 |
95 |
74 |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating expenses, excluding special charges |
9,487 |
8,527 |
960 |
11.3 |
18,203 |
16,582 |
1,621 |
9.8 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Third-party business expenses |
29 |
41 |
(12) |
(29.3) |
60 |
81 |
(21) |
(25.9) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Fuel expense |
2,390 |
1,669 |
721 |
43.2 |
4,355 |
3,229 |
1,126 |
34.9 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Profit sharing, including taxes |
108 |
154 |
(46) |
(29.9) |
125 |
174 |
(49) |
(28.2) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating expenses, excluding fuel, profit sharing, special charges and third-party business expenses |
$ |
6,960 |
$ |
6,663 |
$ |
297 |
4.5 |
$ |
13,663 |
$ |
13,098 |
$ |
565 |
4.3 |
||||||||||||||||
|
Operating income |
$ |
1,161 |
$ |
1,437 |
$ |
(276) |
(19.2) |
$ |
1,437 |
$ |
1,757 |
$ |
(320) |
(18.2) |
||||||||||||||||
|
Special charges (C) |
129 |
44 |
85 |
NM |
169 |
95 |
74 |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating income, excluding special charges |
$ |
1,290 |
$ |
1,481 |
$ |
(191) |
(12.9) |
$ |
1,606 |
$ |
1,852 |
$ |
(246) |
(13.3) |
||||||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax income |
$ |
857 |
$ |
1,277 |
$ |
(420) |
(32.9) |
$ |
1,041 |
$ |
1,427 |
$ |
(386) |
(27.0) |
||||||||||||||||
|
Special charges and MTM losses on equity investments before income taxes (C) |
264 |
44 |
220 |
NM |
259 |
95 |
164 |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax income excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments |
$ |
1,121 |
$ |
1,321 |
$ |
(200) |
(15.1) |
$ |
1,300 |
$ |
1,522 |
$ |
(222) |
(14.6) |
||||||||||||||||
|
Net income |
$ |
684 |
$ |
821 |
$ |
(137) |
(16.7) |
$ |
831 |
$ |
920 |
$ |
(89) |
(9.7) |
||||||||||||||||
|
Special charges and MTM losses on equity investments, net of tax (C) |
205 |
28 |
177 |
NM |
201 |
61 |
140 |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net income, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments |
$ |
889 |
$ |
849 |
$ |
40 |
4.7 |
$ |
1,032 |
$ |
981 |
$ |
51 |
5.2 |
||||||||||||||||
|
Diluted earnings per share |
$ |
2.48 |
$ |
2.67 |
$ |
(0.19) |
(7.1) |
$ |
2.96 |
$ |
2.96 |
$ |
— |
— |
||||||||||||||||
|
Special charges and MTM losses on equity investments |
0.96 |
0.14 |
0.82 |
NM |
0.92 |
0.31 |
0.61 |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Tax effect related to special charges and MTM losses on equity investments |
(0.21) |
(0.05) |
(0.16) |
NM |
(0.20) |
(0.12) |
(0.08) |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Diluted earnings per share, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments |
$ |
3.23 |
$ |
2.76 |
$ |
0.47 |
17.0 |
$ |
3.68 |
$ |
3.15 |
$ |
0.53 |
16.8 |
||||||||||||||||
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | |||||||||||||||||||
|
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL RECONCILIATION (Continued) | |||||||||||||||||||
|
UAL provides financial metrics, including earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), excluding special charges and MTM gains and losses on equity investments that we believe provide useful supplemental information for management and investors by measuring profit and profit as a percentage of total operating revenues. UAL believes that adjusting for special charges is useful to investors because special charges are not indicative of UAL's ongoing performance. UAL believes that adjusting for MTM gains and losses on equity investments is useful to investors because those unrealized gains or losses may not ultimately be realized on a cash basis. | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
Six Months Ended |
||||||||||||||||||
|
EBITDA, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (in millions) |
2018 |
2017 |
2018 |
2017 |
|||||||||||||||
|
Net income |
$ |
684 |
$ |
821 |
$ |
831 |
$ |
920 |
|||||||||||
|
Adjusted for: |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Depreciation and amortization |
557 |
536 |
1,098 |
1,054 |
|||||||||||||||
|
Interest expense |
177 |
167 |
353 |
329 |
|||||||||||||||
|
Interest capitalized |
(14) |
(21) |
(33) |
(44) |
|||||||||||||||
|
Interest income |
(25) |
(13) |
(42) |
(24) |
|||||||||||||||
|
Income tax expense (D) |
173 |
456 |
210 |
507 |
|||||||||||||||
|
Special charges before income taxes (C) |
129 |
44 |
169 |
95 |
|||||||||||||||
|
MTM losses on equity investments (C) |
135 |
— |
90 |
— |
|||||||||||||||
|
EBITDA, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
1,816 |
$ |
1,990 |
$ |
2,676 |
$ |
2,837 |
|||||||||||
|
UAL believes that adjusting capital expenditures for assets acquired through the issuance of debt and capital leases, airport construction financing and excluding fully reimbursable projects is useful to investors in order to appropriately reflect the non-reimbursable funds spent on capital expenditures. UAL also believes that adjusting net cash provided by operating activities for capital expenditures and adjusted capital expenditures is useful to allow investors to evaluate the company's ability to generate cash that is available for debt service or general corporate initiatives. | ||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
Six Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
|
Capital Expenditures (in millions) |
2018 |
2017 |
2018 |
2017 | ||||||||||||
|
Capital expenditures |
$ |
755 |
$ |
1,089 |
$ |
1,734 |
$ |
1,780 |
||||||||
|
Property and equipment acquired through the issuance of debt and capital leases |
65 |
196 |
139 |
907 |
||||||||||||
|
Airport construction financing |
— |
11 |
12 |
32 |
||||||||||||
|
Fully reimbursable projects |
(37) |
(49) |
(89) |
(118) |
||||||||||||
|
Adjusted capital expenditures (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
783 |
$ |
1,247 |
$ |
1,796 |
$ |
2,601 |
||||||||
|
Free Cash Flow (in millions) |
||||||||||||||||
|
Net cash provided by operating activities |
$ |
2,442 |
$ |
1,561 |
$ |
4,175 |
$ |
2,108 |
||||||||
|
Less capital expenditures |
755 |
1,089 |
1,734 |
1,780 |
||||||||||||
|
Free cash flow, net of financings (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
1,687 |
$ |
472 |
$ |
2,441 |
$ |
328 |
||||||||
|
Net cash provided by operating activities |
$ |
2,442 |
$ |
1,561 |
$ |
4,175 |
$ |
2,108 |
||||||||
|
Less adjusted capital expenditures (Non-GAAP) |
783 |
1,247 |
1,796 |
2,601 |
||||||||||||
|
Free cash flow (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
1,659 |
$ |
314 |
$ |
2,379 |
$ |
(493) |
||||||||
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | |||||||||||
|
NOTES (UNAUDITED) | |||||||||||
|
(B) Select passenger revenue information is as follows (in millions): | |||||||||||
|
2Q 2018 |
Passenger |
PRASM |
Yield |
Available | |||||||
|
Mainline |
$ |
4,395 |
8.7% |
1.7% |
1.6% |
6.9% | |||||
|
Regional |
1,786 |
10.6% |
0.9% |
(1.0%) |
9.6% | ||||||
|
Domestic |
6,181 |
9.2% |
1.7% |
1.3% |
7.4% | ||||||
|
Atlantic |
1,824 |
12.9% |
7.9% |
0.9% |
4.7% | ||||||
|
Pacific |
1,103 |
3.7% |
3.4% |
4.3% |
0.2% | ||||||
|
Latin America |
772 |
(5.2%) |
(2.9%) |
(4.2%) |
(2.3%) | ||||||
|
International |
3,699 |
5.9% |
4.3% |
1.4% |
1.6% | ||||||
|
Consolidated |
$ |
9,880 |
8.0% |
3.0% |
1.5% |
4.8% | |||||
|
Mainline |
$ |
8,045 |
7.4% |
3.0% |
1.5% |
4.3% | |||||
|
Regional |
1,835 |
10.6% |
1.3% |
(0.6%) |
9.3% | ||||||
|
Consolidated |
$ |
9,880 |
|||||||||
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | |||||||||||||||||
|
NOTES (UNAUDITED) | |||||||||||||||||
|
(C) Special charges and MTM losses on equity investments include the following: | |||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
Six Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||
|
(In millions) |
2018 |
2017 |
2018 |
2017 | |||||||||||||
|
Operating: |
|||||||||||||||||
|
Impairment of assets |
$ |
111 |
$ |
— |
$ |
134 |
$ |
— |
|||||||||
|
Severance and benefit costs |
11 |
41 |
25 |
78 |
|||||||||||||
|
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges |
7 |
3 |
10 |
17 |
|||||||||||||
|
Total special charges |
129 |
44 |
169 |
95 |
|||||||||||||
|
Nonoperating MTM losses on equity investments |
135 |
— |
90 |
— |
|||||||||||||
|
Total special charges and MTM losses on equity investments |
264 |
44 |
259 |
95 |
|||||||||||||
|
Income tax benefit related to special charges |
(29) |
(16) |
(38) |
(34) |
|||||||||||||
|
Income tax benefit related to MTM losses on equity investments |
(30) |
— |
(20) |
— |
|||||||||||||
|
Total special charges and MTM losses on equity investments, net of income taxes |
$ |
205 |
$ |
28 |
$ |
201 |
$ |
61 |
|||||||||
|
Impairment of assets: In May 2018, the Brazil–United States open skies agreement was ratified, which provides air carriers with unrestricted access between the United States and Brazil. The company determined that the approval of the open skies agreement impaired the entire value of its Brazil route authorities because the agreement removes all limitations or reciprocity requirements for flights between the United States and Brazil. Accordingly, the company recorded a $105 million special charge ($82 million net of taxes) to write off the entire value of the intangible asset associated with its Brazil routes. This asset is not part of any collateral pledged against any of the company's borrowings. The company continues to maintain its slot assets related to Brazil since airport access is still restricted by slot allocations that are limited by airport facility constraints. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the company also recorded $6 million ($5 million net of taxes) and $29 million ($22 million net of taxes), respectively, of fair value adjustments related to aircraft purchased off lease and other impairments related to certain fleet types and international slots no longer in use. |
|
Severance and benefit costs: During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the company recorded severance and benefit costs related to a voluntary early-out program for its technicians and related employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters of $6 million ($4 million net of taxes) and $14 million ($11 million net of taxes), respectively. In the first quarter of 2017, approximately 1,000 technicians and related employees elected to voluntarily separate from the company and will receive a severance payment, with a maximum value of $100,000 per participant, based on years of service, with retirement dates through 2018. Also during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the company recorded other management severance of $5 million ($4 million net of taxes) and $11 million ($8 million net of taxes), respectively. |
|
During the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, the company recorded $36 million ($23 million net of taxes) and $57 million ($37 million net of taxes), respectively, of severance and benefit costs related to the voluntary early-out program for its technicians and related employees, and $5 million ($3 million net of taxes) and $21 million ($13 million net of taxes), respectively, of management severance. |
|
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges: During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the Company recorded $7 million ($5 million net of taxes) and $10 million ($8 million net of taxes), respectively, of other special charges related primarily to contract termination of regional aircraft operations in Guam. |
|
MTM losses on equity investments: During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the company recorded losses of $135 million ($105 million net of taxes) and $90 million ($70 million net of taxes), respectively, for the change in market value of its investment in Azul, S.A. For equity investments subject to MTM accounting, the company records gains and losses to Nonoperating income (expense): Miscellaneous, net in its statements of consolidated operations. |
|
(D) Effective tax rate |
|
The company's effective tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 was 20.2%, and the effective tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 was 35.7% and 35.5%, respectively. The effective tax rate represents a blend of federal, state and foreign taxes and included the impact of certain nondeductible items. The effective tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 also reflects the reduced federal corporate income tax rate as a result of the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Act") in December 2017 and the impact of a change in the company's mix of domestic and foreign earnings. We continue to analyze the different aspects of the Tax Act which could potentially affect the provisional estimates that were recorded at December 31, 2017. |
SOURCE United Airlines
For further information: United Airlines Worldwide Media Relations, +1-872-825-8640, media.relations@united.com
"We delivered great financial results and strong operational performance in the second quarter despite the significant headwind of higher fuel prices," said Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer of United Airlines. "These results are the strongest evidence yet that our strategic growth plan is working, and we are well positioned to carry our momentum into the second half of the year."
For more information on UAL's third-quarter 2018 guidance, please visit ir.united.com for the company's investor update.
Second-Quarter Highlights
Operations and Employees
- Completed the best second-quarter on-time departure performance in United's history.
- Received "Best-of-the-Best" Award from the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce and National Business Inclusion Consortium for commitment to diversity and inclusion across all communities.
- Announced a total of $8 million in grants to benefit organizations in each of its domestic hub communities.
- Became the first carrier to achieve certification through the new Audubon International Green Hospitality Program for the airline's United Club location in Terminal 7 of Los Angeles International Airport.
Customer Experience
- Expanded personal device entertainment option to all aircraft with DIRECTV live streaming for purchase, providing at least one free entertainment option on all Wi-Fi equipped aircraft (which is any aircraft with more than 70 seats).
- Opened three new United Polaris lounges located in San Francisco International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
- Announced a new relationship with The Private Suite, offering the airline's customers access to a newly built, private terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.
- Introduced the new United Explorer Card which offers additional benefits, travel credits and discounts.
Network and Fleet
- Launched service from Newark/New York to two new international destinations: Reykjavik, Iceland, and Porto, Portugal.
- Announced the return of seasonal service to 25 destinations, including, among others: Athens, Greece; Glasgow, Scotland; Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; Rome and Venice, Italy; and Hamburg, Germany.
- Announced schedule expansion at East Coast hubs in Newark/New York and Washington-Dulles to offer more nonstop flights to destinations popular with New York-area customers while reallocating largely connecting passenger flights to Washington-Dulles.
- Took delivery of one Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and six Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.
- Became North American launch customer of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, which took its first flight on June 7 from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Orlando International Airport in Florida.
Earnings Call
UAL will hold a conference call to discuss second-quarter 2018 financial results and its financial and operational outlook for the third quarter and full year of 2018 on Wednesday, July 18, at 9:30 a.m. Central Time /10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. A live, listen-only webcast of the conference call will be available at ir.united.com. The webcast will be available for replay within 24 hours of the conference call and then archived on the website for three months.
About United
United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,600 flights a day to 357 airports across five continents. In 2017, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 148 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 757 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 551 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol "UAL".
1 Excludes special charges, the nature of which are not determinable at this time, and mark-to-market impact of equity investments. Accordingly, UAL is not providing earnings guidance on a GAAP basis.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
Certain statements included in this release are forward-looking and thus reflect our current expectations and beliefs with respect to certain current and future events and anticipated financial and operating performance. Such forward-looking statements are and will be subject to many risks and uncertainties relating to our operations and business environment that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "will," "plans," "anticipates," "indicates," "believes," "estimates," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook," "goals" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Additionally, forward-looking statements include statements that do not relate solely to historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties, or which indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to us on the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the following: general economic conditions (including interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, investment or credit market conditions, crude oil prices, costs of aircraft fuel and energy refining capacity in relevant markets); economic and political instability and other risks of doing business globally, including political developments that may impact our operations in certain countries; demand for travel and the impact that global economic and political conditions have on customer travel patterns; competitive pressures on pricing and on demand; demand for transportation in the markets in which we operate; our capacity decisions and the capacity decisions of our competitors; the effects of any hostilities, act of war or terrorist attack; the effects of any technology failures or cybersecurity breaches; the impact of regulatory, investigative and legal proceedings and legal compliance risks; disruptions to our regional network; the ability of other air carriers with whom we have alliances or partnerships to provide the services contemplated by the respective arrangements with such carriers; costs associated with any modification or termination of our aircraft orders; potential reputational or other impact from adverse events in our operations, the operations of our regional carriers or the operations of our code share partners; our ability to attract and retain customers; our ability to execute our operational plans and revenue-generating initiatives, including optimizing our revenue; our ability to control our costs, including realizing benefits from our resource optimization efforts, cost reduction initiatives and fleet replacement programs; the impact of any management changes; our ability to cost-effectively hedge against increases in the price of aircraft fuel if we decide to do so; any potential realized or unrealized gains or losses related to any fuel or currency hedging programs; labor costs; our ability to maintain satisfactory labor relations and the results of any collective bargaining agreement process with our union groups; any disruptions to operations due to any potential actions by our labor groups; an outbreak of a disease that affects travel demand or travel behavior; U.S. or foreign governmental legislation, regulation and other actions (including Open Skies agreements and environmental regulations); industry consolidation or changes in airline alliances; our ability to comply with the terms of our various financing arrangements; the costs and availability of financing; our ability to maintain adequate liquidity; the costs and availability of aviation and other insurance; weather conditions; our ability to utilize our net operating losses to offset future taxable income; the impact of changes in tax laws; the success of our investments in airlines in other parts of the world; and other risks and uncertainties set forth under Part I, Item 1A., "Risk Factors," of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
-tables attached-
On January 1, 2018, United Continental Holdings, Inc. ("UAL") adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 (Topic 606), Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and Accounting Standards Update No. 2017-07, Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost. As such, certain previously reported 2017 figures are adjusted in this report on a basis consistent with the new standards. See the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by UAL with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2018 for additional information.
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED) (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
% |
Six Months Ended |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
(In millions, except per share data) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating revenue: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Passenger |
$ |
9,880 |
$ |
9,151 |
8.0 |
$ |
18,030 |
$ |
16,804 |
7.3 |
||||||||||||||
|
Cargo |
314 |
273 |
15.0 |
607 |
511 |
18.8 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Other operating revenue |
583 |
584 |
(0.2) |
1,172 |
1,119 |
4.7 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Total operating revenue |
10,777 |
10,008 |
7.7 |
19,809 |
18,434 |
7.5 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating expense: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Salaries and related costs |
2,878 |
2,842 |
1.3 |
5,604 |
5,478 |
2.3 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Aircraft fuel |
2,390 |
1,669 |
43.2 |
4,355 |
3,229 |
34.9 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Regional capacity purchase |
681 |
549 |
24.0 |
1,300 |
1,085 |
19.8 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Landing fees and other rent |
603 |
541 |
11.5 |
1,161 |
1,085 |
7.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Depreciation and amortization |
557 |
536 |
3.9 |
1,098 |
1,054 |
4.2 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs |
438 |
472 |
(7.2) |
878 |
926 |
(5.2) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Distribution expenses |
393 |
385 |
2.1 |
735 |
704 |
4.4 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Aircraft rent |
119 |
152 |
(21.7) |
246 |
331 |
(25.7) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Special charges (C) |
129 |
44 |
NM |
169 |
95 |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Other operating expenses |
1,428 |
1,381 |
3.4 |
2,826 |
2,690 |
5.1 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Total operating expense |
9,616 |
8,571 |
12.2 |
18,372 |
16,677 |
10.2 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating income |
1,161 |
1,437 |
(19.2) |
1,437 |
1,757 |
(18.2) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating margin |
10.8 |
% |
14.4 |
% |
(3.6) |
pts. |
7.3 |
% |
9.5 |
% |
(2.2) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Operating margin, excluding special charges (Non-GAAP) |
12.0 |
% |
14.8 |
% |
(2.8) |
pts. |
8.1 |
% |
10.0 |
% |
(1.9) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Nonoperating income (expense): |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Interest expense |
(177) |
(167) |
6.0 |
(353) |
(329) |
7.3 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Interest capitalized |
14 |
21 |
(33.3) |
33 |
44 |
(25.0) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Interest income |
25 |
13 |
92.3 |
42 |
24 |
75.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Miscellaneous, net (C) |
(166) |
(27) |
NM |
(118) |
(69) |
71.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Total nonoperating expense |
(304) |
(160) |
90.0 |
(396) |
(330) |
20.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Income before income taxes |
857 |
1,277 |
(32.9) |
1,041 |
1,427 |
(27.0) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax margin |
8.0 |
% |
12.8 |
% |
(4.8) |
pts. |
5.3 |
% |
7.7 |
% |
(2.4) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax margin, excluding special charges and mark-to-market ("MTM") losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
10.4 |
% |
13.2 |
% |
(2.8) |
pts. |
6.6 |
% |
8.3 |
% |
(1.7) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Income tax expense (D) |
173 |
456 |
(62.1) |
210 |
507 |
(58.6) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Net income |
$ |
684 |
$ |
821 |
(16.7) |
$ |
831 |
$ |
920 |
(9.7) |
||||||||||||||
|
Earnings per share, diluted |
$ |
2.48 |
$ |
2.67 |
(7.1) |
$ |
2.96 |
$ |
2.96 |
— |
||||||||||||||
|
Weighted average shares, diluted |
275.6 |
307.7 |
(10.4) |
280.2 |
311.1 |
(9.9) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
NM Not meaningful |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
STATISTICS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
% |
Six Months Ended |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Mainline: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Passengers (thousands) |
29,589 |
28,084 |
5.4 |
54,191 |
51,909 |
4.4 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Revenue passenger miles (millions) |
53,485 |
50,554 |
5.8 |
97,595 |
92,737 |
5.2 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Available seat miles (millions) |
63,061 |
60,473 |
4.3 |
117,859 |
113,527 |
3.8 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Cargo ton miles (millions) |
855 |
828 |
3.3 |
1,672 |
1,576 |
6.1 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Passenger revenue per available seat mile (cents) |
12.76 |
12.39 |
3.0 |
12.44 |
12.08 |
3.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average yield per revenue passenger mile (cents) |
15.04 |
14.82 |
1.5 |
15.02 |
14.79 |
1.6 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Aircraft in fleet at end of period |
757 |
748 |
1.2 |
757 |
748 |
1.2 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average stage length (miles) |
1,823 |
1,821 |
0.1 |
1,818 |
1,812 |
0.3 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average daily utilization of each aircraft (hours: minutes) |
11:07 |
10:46 |
3.3 |
10:32 |
10:16 |
2.6 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average aircraft fuel price per gallon |
$ |
2.24 |
$ |
1.62 |
38.3 |
$ |
2.17 |
$ |
1.66 |
30.7 |
||||||||||||||
|
Fuel gallons consumed (millions) |
885 |
867 |
2.1 |
1,656 |
1,628 |
1.7 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Regional: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Passengers (thousands) |
11,469 |
10,163 |
12.9 |
21,362 |
19,443 |
9.9 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Revenue passenger miles (millions) |
6,460 |
5,802 |
11.3 |
12,199 |
11,230 |
8.6 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Available seat miles (millions) |
7,641 |
6,994 |
9.3 |
14,820 |
13,748 |
7.8 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Passenger revenue per available seat mile (cents) |
24.02 |
23.72 |
1.3 |
22.73 |
22.44 |
1.3 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average yield per revenue passenger mile (cents) |
28.41 |
28.59 |
(0.6) |
27.62 |
27.47 |
0.5 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Aircraft in fleet at end of period |
551 |
475 |
16.0 |
551 |
475 |
16.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average stage length (miles) |
552 |
558 |
(1.1) |
558 |
565 |
(1.2) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average aircraft fuel price per gallon |
$ |
2.38 |
$ |
1.71 |
39.2 |
$ |
2.29 |
$ |
1.75 |
30.9 |
||||||||||||||
|
Fuel gallons consumed (millions) |
173 |
156 |
10.9 |
334 |
305 |
9.5 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Consolidated (Mainline and Regional): |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Passengers (thousands) |
41,058 |
38,247 |
7.3 |
75,553 |
71,352 |
5.9 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Revenue passenger miles (millions) |
59,945 |
56,356 |
6.4 |
109,794 |
103,967 |
5.6 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Available seat miles (millions) |
70,702 |
67,467 |
4.8 |
132,679 |
127,275 |
4.2 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Passenger load factor: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Consolidated |
84.8 |
% |
83.5 |
% |
1.3 |
pts. |
82.8 |
% |
81.7 |
% |
1.1 |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Domestic |
87.1 |
% |
86.8 |
% |
0.3 |
pts. |
85.1 |
% |
85.2 |
% |
(0.1) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
International |
81.7 |
% |
79.5 |
% |
2.2 |
pts. |
79.7 |
% |
77.5 |
% |
2.2 |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Passenger revenue per available seat mile (cents) |
13.97 |
13.56 |
3.0 |
13.59 |
13.20 |
3.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Total revenue per available seat mile (cents) |
15.24 |
14.83 |
2.8 |
14.93 |
14.48 |
3.1 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average yield per revenue passenger mile (cents) |
16.48 |
16.24 |
1.5 |
16.42 |
16.16 |
1.6 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Aircraft in fleet at end of period |
1,308 |
1,223 |
7.0 |
1,308 |
1,223 |
7.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average stage length (miles) |
1,460 |
1,475 |
(1.0) |
1,452 |
1,464 |
(0.8) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average full-time equivalent employees (thousands) |
86.7 |
86.0 |
0.8 |
86.2 |
85.6 |
0.7 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Average aircraft fuel price per gallon |
$ |
2.26 |
$ |
1.63 |
38.7 |
$ |
2.19 |
$ |
1.67 |
31.1 |
||||||||||||||
|
Fuel gallons consumed (millions) |
1,058 |
1,023 |
3.4 |
1,990 |
1,933 |
2.9 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Note: See Part II, Item 6, Selected Financial Data, of UAL's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, for definitions of these statistics. |
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
SUMMARY FINANCIAL METRICS (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
% |
Six Months Ended |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
(In millions, except per share data) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating income |
$ |
1,161 |
$ |
1,437 |
(19.2) |
$ |
1,437 |
$ |
1,757 |
(18.2) |
||||||||||||||
|
Operating margin |
10.8 |
% |
14.4 |
% |
(3.6) |
pts. |
7.3 |
% |
9.5 |
% |
(2.2) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Operating income, excluding special charges (Non-GAAP) |
1,290 |
1,481 |
(12.9) |
1,606 |
1,852 |
(13.3) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating margin, excluding special charges (Non-GAAP) |
12.0 |
% |
14.8 |
% |
(2.8) |
pts. |
8.1 |
% |
10.0 |
% |
(1.9) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
EBITDA, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
1,816 |
$ |
1,990 |
(8.7) |
$ |
2,676 |
$ |
2,837 |
(5.7) |
||||||||||||||
|
EBITDA margin, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
16.9 |
% |
19.9 |
% |
(3.0) |
pts. |
13.5 |
% |
15.4 |
% |
(1.9) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax income |
$ |
857 |
$ |
1,277 |
(32.9) |
$ |
1,041 |
$ |
1,427 |
(27.0) |
||||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax margin |
8.0 |
% |
12.8 |
% |
(4.8) |
pts. |
5.3 |
% |
7.7 |
% |
(2.4) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax income, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
1,121 |
1,321 |
(15.1) |
1,300 |
1,522 |
(14.6) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax margin, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
10.4 |
% |
13.2 |
% |
(2.8) |
pts. |
6.6 |
% |
8.3 |
% |
(1.7) |
pts. | ||||||||||||
|
Net income |
$ |
684 |
$ |
821 |
(16.7) |
$ |
831 |
$ |
920 |
(9.7) |
||||||||||||||
|
Net income, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
889 |
849 |
4.7 |
1,032 |
981 |
5.2 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Diluted earnings per share |
$ |
2.48 |
$ |
2.67 |
(7.1) |
$ |
2.96 |
$ |
2.96 |
— |
||||||||||||||
|
Diluted earnings per share, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
3.23 |
2.76 |
17.0 |
3.68 |
3.15 |
16.8 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Net cash provided by operating activities |
$ |
2,442 |
$ |
1,561 |
56.4 |
$ |
4,175 |
$ |
2,108 |
98.1 |
||||||||||||||
|
Capital expenditures |
$ |
755 |
$ |
1,089 |
(30.7) |
$ |
1,734 |
$ |
1,780 |
(2.6) |
||||||||||||||
|
Adjusted capital expenditures (Non-GAAP) |
783 |
1,247 |
(37.2) |
1,796 |
2,601 |
(30.9) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Free cash flow, net of financings (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
1,687 |
$ |
472 |
257.4 |
$ |
2,441 |
$ |
328 |
NM |
||||||||||||||
|
Free cash flow (Non-GAAP) |
1,659 |
314 |
428.3 |
2,379 |
(493) |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||
|
NM Not meaningful |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | |||
|
RETURN ON INVESTED CAPITAL (ROIC) - Non-GAAP | |||
|
ROIC is a non-GAAP financial measure that we believe provides useful supplemental information for management and investors by measuring the effectiveness of our operations' use of invested capital to generate profits. | |||
|
(in millions) |
Twelve Months Ended | ||
|
Net Operating Profit After Tax ("NOPAT") |
|||
|
Pre-tax income |
$ |
2,654 |
|
|
Special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (C): |
|||
|
Impairment of assets |
159 |
||
|
MTM losses on equity investments |
90 |
||
|
Severance and benefit costs |
63 |
||
|
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges |
28 |
||
|
Pre-tax income excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
2,994 |
||
|
add: Interest expense (net of income tax benefit) (a) |
689 |
||
|
add: Interest component of capitalized aircraft rent (net of income tax benefit) (a) |
260 |
||
|
add: Net interest on pension (net of income tax benefit) (a) |
10 |
||
|
less: Income taxes paid |
(24) |
||
|
NOPAT (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
3,929 |
|
|
Average Invested Capital (five-quarter average) |
|||
|
Total assets |
$ |
43,205 |
|
|
add: Capitalized aircraft operating leases (b) |
4,227 |
||
|
less: Non-interest bearing liabilities (c) |
(16,957) |
||
|
Average invested capital (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
30,475 |
|
|
Return on invested capital (Non-GAAP) |
12.9 |
% | |
|
(a) |
Income tax benefit measured based on the effective cash tax rate. The effective cash tax rate is calculated by dividing cash taxes paid by pre-tax income excluding special charges. For the twelve months ended June 30, 2018, the effective cash tax rate was 0.8%. |
|
(b) |
The purpose of this adjustment is to capitalize the impact of aircraft operating leases. The company uses a multiple of seven times its annual aircraft rent expense to estimate the potential capitalized value and related liability of its aircraft. This is a simplified method used by many rating agencies and financial analysts to assist with the impact of operating leases on financial measures like return on invested capital. |
|
(c) |
Non-interest bearing liabilities include advance ticket sales, frequent flyer deferred revenue, deferred income taxes and other non-interest bearing liabilities. |
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||||
|
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL RECONCILIATION | ||||||||||||||||||
|
(A) UAL evaluates its financial performance utilizing various accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) and Non-GAAP financial measures, including operating income (loss), excluding special charges, operating margin excluding special charges, pre-tax income (loss), excluding special charges and MTM gains and losses on equity investments, pre-tax margin, excluding special charges and MTM gains and losses on equity investments, net income (loss), excluding special charges and MTM gains and losses on equity investments, diluted earnings (loss) per share, excluding special charges and MTM gains and losses on equity investments, and CASM, excluding special charges, third-party business expenses, fuel, and profit sharing, among others. UAL believes that adjusting for special charges is useful to investors because special charges are not indicative of UAL's ongoing performance. UAL believes that adjusting for MTM gains and losses on equity investments is useful to investors because those unrealized gains or losses may not ultimately be realized on a cash basis. | ||||||||||||||||||
|
CASM is a common metric used in the airline industry to measure an airline's cost structure and efficiency. UAL reports CASM excluding special charges, third-party business expenses, fuel and profit sharing. UAL believes that adjusting for special charges is useful to investors because special charges are not indicative of UAL's ongoing performance. UAL also believes that excluding third-party business expenses, such as maintenance, ground handling and catering services for third parties and fuel sales, provides more meaningful disclosure because these expenses are not directly related to UAL's core business. UAL also believes that excluding fuel costs from certain measures is useful to investors because it provides an additional measure of management's performance excluding the effects of a significant cost item over which management has limited influence. UAL excludes profit sharing because this exclusion allows investors to better understand and analyze our recurring cost performance and provides a more meaningful comparison of our core operating costs to the airline industry. | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Reconciliations of reported non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included below. | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
% |
Six Months Ended |
% | |||||||||||||||
|
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) | |||||||||||||
|
CASM Mainline Operations (cents) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Cost per available seat mile (CASM) |
13.08 |
12.27 |
6.6 |
13.31 |
12.68 |
5.0 |
||||||||||||
|
Special charges (C) |
0.20 |
0.07 |
NM |
0.14 |
0.09 |
NM |
||||||||||||
|
Third-party business expenses |
0.05 |
0.07 |
(28.6) |
0.05 |
0.06 |
(16.7) |
||||||||||||
|
Fuel expense |
3.14 |
2.32 |
35.3 |
3.05 |
2.38 |
28.2 |
||||||||||||
|
CASM, excluding special charges, third-party business expenses and fuel |
9.69 |
9.81 |
(1.2) |
10.07 |
10.15 |
(0.8) |
||||||||||||
|
Profit sharing per available seat mile |
0.17 |
0.25 |
(32.0) |
0.10 |
0.15 |
(33.3) |
||||||||||||
|
CASM, excluding special charges, third-party business expenses, fuel, and profit sharing |
9.52 |
9.56 |
(0.4) |
9.97 |
10.00 |
(0.3) |
||||||||||||
|
CASM Consolidated Operations (cents) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Cost per available seat mile (CASM) |
13.60 |
12.70 |
7.1 |
13.85 |
13.10 |
5.7 |
||||||||||||
|
Special charges (C) |
0.18 |
0.07 |
NM |
0.13 |
0.07 |
NM |
||||||||||||
|
Third-party business expenses |
0.04 |
0.05 |
(20.0) |
0.05 |
0.06 |
(16.7) |
||||||||||||
|
Fuel expense |
3.38 |
2.47 |
36.8 |
3.28 |
2.54 |
29.1 |
||||||||||||
|
CASM, excluding special charges, third-party business expenses and fuel |
10.00 |
10.11 |
(1.1) |
10.39 |
10.43 |
(0.4) |
||||||||||||
|
Profit sharing per available seat mile |
0.16 |
0.23 |
(30.4) |
0.09 |
0.14 |
(35.7) |
||||||||||||
|
CASM, excluding special charges, third-party business expenses, fuel, and profit sharing |
9.84 |
9.88 |
(0.4) |
10.30 |
10.29 |
0.1 |
||||||||||||
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL RECONCILIATION (Continued) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
$ |
% |
Six Months Ended |
$ |
% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
(in millions) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
(Decrease) |
2018 |
2017 |
(Decrease) |
(Decrease) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating expenses |
$ |
9,616 |
$ |
8,571 |
$ |
1,045 |
12.2 |
$ |
18,372 |
$ |
16,677 |
$ |
1,695 |
10.2 |
||||||||||||||||
|
Special charges (C) |
129 |
44 |
85 |
NM |
169 |
95 |
74 |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating expenses, excluding special charges |
9,487 |
8,527 |
960 |
11.3 |
18,203 |
16,582 |
1,621 |
9.8 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Third-party business expenses |
29 |
41 |
(12) |
(29.3) |
60 |
81 |
(21) |
(25.9) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Fuel expense |
2,390 |
1,669 |
721 |
43.2 |
4,355 |
3,229 |
1,126 |
34.9 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Profit sharing, including taxes |
108 |
154 |
(46) |
(29.9) |
125 |
174 |
(49) |
(28.2) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating expenses, excluding fuel, profit sharing, special charges and third-party business expenses |
$ |
6,960 |
$ |
6,663 |
$ |
297 |
4.5 |
$ |
13,663 |
$ |
13,098 |
$ |
565 |
4.3 |
||||||||||||||||
|
Operating income |
$ |
1,161 |
$ |
1,437 |
$ |
(276) |
(19.2) |
$ |
1,437 |
$ |
1,757 |
$ |
(320) |
(18.2) |
||||||||||||||||
|
Special charges (C) |
129 |
44 |
85 |
NM |
169 |
95 |
74 |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating income, excluding special charges |
$ |
1,290 |
$ |
1,481 |
$ |
(191) |
(12.9) |
$ |
1,606 |
$ |
1,852 |
$ |
(246) |
(13.3) |
||||||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax income |
$ |
857 |
$ |
1,277 |
$ |
(420) |
(32.9) |
$ |
1,041 |
$ |
1,427 |
$ |
(386) |
(27.0) |
||||||||||||||||
|
Special charges and MTM losses on equity investments before income taxes (C) |
264 |
44 |
220 |
NM |
259 |
95 |
164 |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Pre-tax income excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments |
$ |
1,121 |
$ |
1,321 |
$ |
(200) |
(15.1) |
$ |
1,300 |
$ |
1,522 |
$ |
(222) |
(14.6) |
||||||||||||||||
|
Net income |
$ |
684 |
$ |
821 |
$ |
(137) |
(16.7) |
$ |
831 |
$ |
920 |
$ |
(89) |
(9.7) |
||||||||||||||||
|
Special charges and MTM losses on equity investments, net of tax (C) |
205 |
28 |
177 |
NM |
201 |
61 |
140 |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net income, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments |
$ |
889 |
$ |
849 |
$ |
40 |
4.7 |
$ |
1,032 |
$ |
981 |
$ |
51 |
5.2 |
||||||||||||||||
|
Diluted earnings per share |
$ |
2.48 |
$ |
2.67 |
$ |
(0.19) |
(7.1) |
$ |
2.96 |
$ |
2.96 |
$ |
— |
— |
||||||||||||||||
|
Special charges and MTM losses on equity investments |
0.96 |
0.14 |
0.82 |
NM |
0.92 |
0.31 |
0.61 |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Tax effect related to special charges and MTM losses on equity investments |
(0.21) |
(0.05) |
(0.16) |
NM |
(0.20) |
(0.12) |
(0.08) |
NM |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Diluted earnings per share, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments |
$ |
3.23 |
$ |
2.76 |
$ |
0.47 |
17.0 |
$ |
3.68 |
$ |
3.15 |
$ |
0.53 |
16.8 |
||||||||||||||||
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | |||||||||||||||||||
|
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL RECONCILIATION (Continued) | |||||||||||||||||||
|
UAL provides financial metrics, including earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), excluding special charges and MTM gains and losses on equity investments that we believe provide useful supplemental information for management and investors by measuring profit and profit as a percentage of total operating revenues. UAL believes that adjusting for special charges is useful to investors because special charges are not indicative of UAL's ongoing performance. UAL believes that adjusting for MTM gains and losses on equity investments is useful to investors because those unrealized gains or losses may not ultimately be realized on a cash basis. | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
Six Months Ended |
||||||||||||||||||
|
EBITDA, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (in millions) |
2018 |
2017 |
2018 |
2017 |
|||||||||||||||
|
Net income |
$ |
684 |
$ |
821 |
$ |
831 |
$ |
920 |
|||||||||||
|
Adjusted for: |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Depreciation and amortization |
557 |
536 |
1,098 |
1,054 |
|||||||||||||||
|
Interest expense |
177 |
167 |
353 |
329 |
|||||||||||||||
|
Interest capitalized |
(14) |
(21) |
(33) |
(44) |
|||||||||||||||
|
Interest income |
(25) |
(13) |
(42) |
(24) |
|||||||||||||||
|
Income tax expense (D) |
173 |
456 |
210 |
507 |
|||||||||||||||
|
Special charges before income taxes (C) |
129 |
44 |
169 |
95 |
|||||||||||||||
|
MTM losses on equity investments (C) |
135 |
— |
90 |
— |
|||||||||||||||
|
EBITDA, excluding special charges and MTM losses on equity investments (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
1,816 |
$ |
1,990 |
$ |
2,676 |
$ |
2,837 |
|||||||||||
|
UAL believes that adjusting capital expenditures for assets acquired through the issuance of debt and capital leases, airport construction financing and excluding fully reimbursable projects is useful to investors in order to appropriately reflect the non-reimbursable funds spent on capital expenditures. UAL also believes that adjusting net cash provided by operating activities for capital expenditures and adjusted capital expenditures is useful to allow investors to evaluate the company's ability to generate cash that is available for debt service or general corporate initiatives. | ||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
Six Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
|
Capital Expenditures (in millions) |
2018 |
2017 |
2018 |
2017 | ||||||||||||
|
Capital expenditures |
$ |
755 |
$ |
1,089 |
$ |
1,734 |
$ |
1,780 |
||||||||
|
Property and equipment acquired through the issuance of debt and capital leases |
65 |
196 |
139 |
907 |
||||||||||||
|
Airport construction financing |
— |
11 |
12 |
32 |
||||||||||||
|
Fully reimbursable projects |
(37) |
(49) |
(89) |
(118) |
||||||||||||
|
Adjusted capital expenditures (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
783 |
$ |
1,247 |
$ |
1,796 |
$ |
2,601 |
||||||||
|
Free Cash Flow (in millions) |
||||||||||||||||
|
Net cash provided by operating activities |
$ |
2,442 |
$ |
1,561 |
$ |
4,175 |
$ |
2,108 |
||||||||
|
Less capital expenditures |
755 |
1,089 |
1,734 |
1,780 |
||||||||||||
|
Free cash flow, net of financings (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
1,687 |
$ |
472 |
$ |
2,441 |
$ |
328 |
||||||||
|
Net cash provided by operating activities |
$ |
2,442 |
$ |
1,561 |
$ |
4,175 |
$ |
2,108 |
||||||||
|
Less adjusted capital expenditures (Non-GAAP) |
783 |
1,247 |
1,796 |
2,601 |
||||||||||||
|
Free cash flow (Non-GAAP) |
$ |
1,659 |
$ |
314 |
$ |
2,379 |
$ |
(493) |
||||||||
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | |||||||||||
|
NOTES (UNAUDITED) | |||||||||||
|
(B) Select passenger revenue information is as follows (in millions): | |||||||||||
|
2Q 2018 |
Passenger |
PRASM |
Yield |
Available | |||||||
|
Mainline |
$ |
4,395 |
8.7% |
1.7% |
1.6% |
6.9% | |||||
|
Regional |
1,786 |
10.6% |
0.9% |
(1.0%) |
9.6% | ||||||
|
Domestic |
6,181 |
9.2% |
1.7% |
1.3% |
7.4% | ||||||
|
Atlantic |
1,824 |
12.9% |
7.9% |
0.9% |
4.7% | ||||||
|
Pacific |
1,103 |
3.7% |
3.4% |
4.3% |
0.2% | ||||||
|
Latin America |
772 |
(5.2%) |
(2.9%) |
(4.2%) |
(2.3%) | ||||||
|
International |
3,699 |
5.9% |
4.3% |
1.4% |
1.6% | ||||||
|
Consolidated |
$ |
9,880 |
8.0% |
3.0% |
1.5% |
4.8% | |||||
|
Mainline |
$ |
8,045 |
7.4% |
3.0% |
1.5% |
4.3% | |||||
|
Regional |
1,835 |
10.6% |
1.3% |
(0.6%) |
9.3% | ||||||
|
Consolidated |
$ |
9,880 |
|||||||||
|
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | |||||||||||||||||
|
NOTES (UNAUDITED) | |||||||||||||||||
|
(C) Special charges and MTM losses on equity investments include the following: | |||||||||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
Six Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||
|
(In millions) |
2018 |
2017 |
2018 |
2017 | |||||||||||||
|
Operating: |
|||||||||||||||||
|
Impairment of assets |
$ |
111 |
$ |
— |
$ |
134 |
$ |
— |
|||||||||
|
Severance and benefit costs |
11 |
41 |
25 |
78 |
|||||||||||||
|
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges |
7 |
3 |
10 |
17 |
|||||||||||||
|
Total special charges |
129 |
44 |
169 |
95 |
|||||||||||||
|
Nonoperating MTM losses on equity investments |
135 |
— |
90 |
— |
|||||||||||||
|
Total special charges and MTM losses on equity investments |
264 |
44 |
259 |
95 |
|||||||||||||
|
Income tax benefit related to special charges |
(29) |
(16) |
(38) |
(34) |
|||||||||||||
|
Income tax benefit related to MTM losses on equity investments |
(30) |
— |
(20) |
— |
|||||||||||||
|
Total special charges and MTM losses on equity investments, net of income taxes |
$ |
205 |
$ |
28 |
$ |
201 |
$ |
61 |
|||||||||
|
Impairment of assets: In May 2018, the Brazil–United States open skies agreement was ratified, which provides air carriers with unrestricted access between the United States and Brazil. The company determined that the approval of the open skies agreement impaired the entire value of its Brazil route authorities because the agreement removes all limitations or reciprocity requirements for flights between the United States and Brazil. Accordingly, the company recorded a $105 million special charge ($82 million net of taxes) to write off the entire value of the intangible asset associated with its Brazil routes. This asset is not part of any collateral pledged against any of the company's borrowings. The company continues to maintain its slot assets related to Brazil since airport access is still restricted by slot allocations that are limited by airport facility constraints. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the company also recorded $6 million ($5 million net of taxes) and $29 million ($22 million net of taxes), respectively, of fair value adjustments related to aircraft purchased off lease and other impairments related to certain fleet types and international slots no longer in use. |
|
Severance and benefit costs: During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the company recorded severance and benefit costs related to a voluntary early-out program for its technicians and related employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters of $6 million ($4 million net of taxes) and $14 million ($11 million net of taxes), respectively. In the first quarter of 2017, approximately 1,000 technicians and related employees elected to voluntarily separate from the company and will receive a severance payment, with a maximum value of $100,000 per participant, based on years of service, with retirement dates through 2018. Also during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the company recorded other management severance of $5 million ($4 million net of taxes) and $11 million ($8 million net of taxes), respectively. |
|
During the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, the company recorded $36 million ($23 million net of taxes) and $57 million ($37 million net of taxes), respectively, of severance and benefit costs related to the voluntary early-out program for its technicians and related employees, and $5 million ($3 million net of taxes) and $21 million ($13 million net of taxes), respectively, of management severance. |
|
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges: During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the Company recorded $7 million ($5 million net of taxes) and $10 million ($8 million net of taxes), respectively, of other special charges related primarily to contract termination of regional aircraft operations in Guam. |
|
MTM losses on equity investments: During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the company recorded losses of $135 million ($105 million net of taxes) and $90 million ($70 million net of taxes), respectively, for the change in market value of its investment in Azul, S.A. For equity investments subject to MTM accounting, the company records gains and losses to Nonoperating income (expense): Miscellaneous, net in its statements of consolidated operations. |
|
(D) Effective tax rate |
|
The company's effective tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 was 20.2%, and the effective tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 was 35.7% and 35.5%, respectively. The effective tax rate represents a blend of federal, state and foreign taxes and included the impact of certain nondeductible items. The effective tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 also reflects the reduced federal corporate income tax rate as a result of the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Act") in December 2017 and the impact of a change in the company's mix of domestic and foreign earnings. We continue to analyze the different aspects of the Tax Act which could potentially affect the provisional estimates that were recorded at December 31, 2017. |
SOURCE United Airlines
For further information: United Airlines Worldwide Media Relations, +1-872-825-8640, media.relations@united.com
CHICAGO, Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- United today announced the largest transatlantic expansion in its history, including 10 new flights and five new, vogue destinations – Amman, Jordan; Bergen, Norway; Azores, Portugal; Palma de Mallorca, Spain and Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands. All of the new routes – which are set to begin in Spring 2022 – are not served by any other North American carrier. Additionally, next year, United will add new flights to five popular European destinations: Berlin, Dublin, Milan, Munich and Rome. Lastly, United will launch seven routes that were interrupted due to the pandemic to Bangalore, Frankfurt, Tokyo's Haneda Airport, Nice and Zurich. Flights are subject to government approval.
"Given our big expectations for a rebound in travel to Europe for summer, this is the right time to leverage our leading global network in new, exciting ways," said Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of international network and alliances at United. "Our expansion offers the widest range of destinations to discover – introducing new, trendy locales that our customers will love, as well as adding more flights to iconic, popular cities."
Amman, Jordan
United will begin new capital to capital service between Washington, D.C. and Amman, Jordan starting May 5. Customers will be able to explore the numerous historical sites in and around Amman, as well as visit Jordan's other top destinations including Petra, the Dead Sea and the Wadi Rum desert. United will be the only North American carrier flying direct to Amman with service three times weekly with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal
United will add a third Portuguese destination to its global network with brand new flights between New York/Newark and Ponta Delgada in the Azores beginning May 13. The carrier will offer the most flights between the U.S. and Portugal of any North American airline and will be the only airline to fly to the Azores from the New York metro area. This daily service joins United's existing flights to Porto, which will return in March, and Lisbon, which the airline is currently operating from New York/Newark and will resume from Washington, D.C. next summer. United will fly a brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft featuring United's new signature interior with enhanced seat back entertainment with Bluetooth connectivity and overhead bin space for every customer.
Bergen, Norway
Beginning May 20, United will become the only U.S. carrier to fly to Norway with flights launching between New York/Newark and Bergen. United will offer three times weekly service on a Boeing 757-200, allowing customers to experience Bergen's surrounding mountainous landscape and breathtaking fjords. United will be the only carrier to fly to Bergen from the U.S.
Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
United is expanding its Spanish beach getaway destinations with three times weekly flights between New York/Newark and Palma de Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, launching June 2 with a Boeing 767-300ER. This will be the first and only flight between the U.S. and Mallorca and will add to United's existing service to Madrid and Barcelona.
Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Travelers looking for an additional new beach destination can enjoy the stunning black and white sand beaches of Spain's Canary Islands with United's new flight from New York/Newark to Tenerife. United will be the only airline to fly direct between the Canary Islands and North America with three-times weekly service launching June 9 with a Boeing 757-200. Along with the new service to Palma de Mallorca, United will fly to more Spanish destinations from North America than any other airline.
Expanded European Service
United is also adding flights to some of Europe's most iconic cities in anticipation of a resurgence in visitors. Next spring United will add:
- New daily flights between Denver and Munich – joining existing service from Denver to Frankfurt and London which is expected to resume in March. United is the only U.S. airline to offer transatlantic service from Denver.
- New daily flights between Chicago and Milan, joining existing seasonal flights between Chicago and Rome. United will be the only airline to offer a direct flight between Chicago and Milan, adding to its existing service between New York/Newark and Milan.
- New daily capital to capital service between Washington, D.C. and Berlin, joining our other service to Berlin from New York/Newark. United is the only U.S. airline with direct flights to Berlin.
- An additional daily flight from New York/Newark to Dublin and Rome.
In addition to these new routes, United will begin seven routes that were interrupted by the pandemic:
- Daily flights between San Francisco and Bangalore beginning May 26
- Daily flights between New York/Newark and Nice beginning April 29
- A second daily flight between New York/Newark and Frankfurt beginning April 23
- Daily flights between Chicago and Zurich beginning April 23
- Flights from Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and New York/Newark to Tokyo's Haneda airport by March 26
Committed to Ensuring a Safe Journey
United is committed to putting health and safety at the forefront of every customer's journey, with the goal of delivering an industry-leading standard of cleanliness through its United CleanPlusSM program. United has teamed up with Clorox and Cleveland Clinic to redefine cleaning and health safety procedures from check-in to landing and has implemented more than a dozen new policies, protocols and innovations designed with the safety of customers and employees in mind. To manage entry requirements in different destinations, and find places to get tests, customer can visit United's Travel Ready Center.
United Next
United is more focused than ever on its commitment to customers and employees. In addition to today's announcement, United has recently:
- Launched an ambitious plan to transform the United customer experience by adding and upgrading hundreds of aircraft as well as investing in features like larger overhead bins, seatback entertainment in every seat and the industry's fastest available Wi-Fi.
- Announced a goal to create 25,000 unionized jobs by 2026 that includes careers as pilots, flight attendants, agents, technicians, and dispatchers.
- Announced that United will train at least 5,000 pilots by 2030 through the United Aviate Academy, with the plan of at least half being women and people of color.
- Required all U.S. employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
- Became the first airline to offer customers the ability to check their destination's travel requirements, schedule COVID-19 tests and more on its mobile app and website.
- Invested in emerging technologies that are designed to decarbonize air travel, like an agreement to work with urban air mobility company Archer, an investment in aircraft startup Heart Aerospace and a purchase agreement with Boom Supersonic.
- Committed to going 100% green by 2050 by reducing 100% of our greenhouse gas emissions without relying on traditional carbon offsets, including a recent agreement to purchase one and a half times the amount of all of the rest of the world's airlines' publicly announced Sustainable Aviation Fuel commitments combined.
- Eliminated change fees for all economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S.
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." In 2019, United and United Express® carriers operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 162 million customers. United has the most comprehensive route network among North American carriers, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For more about how to join the United team, please visit united.com/careers and more information about the company is at united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
SOURCE United Airlines
For further information: United Airlines Worldwide Media Relations, 872.825.8640, media.relations@united.com
CHICAGO, Oct. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today announced the promotion of Ankit Gupta to Senior Vice President of Domestic Planning and United Express, and Patrick Quayle to Senior Vice President International Network and Alliances. Both Gupta and Quayle will continue to report directly to Andrew Nocella, United's Chief Commercial Officer.
In addition to these promotions, United also named former United Express Senior Vice President Sarah Murphy to lead the airline's new Global Sourcing organization as Senior Vice President of Global Sourcing and Chief Procurement Officer. Murphy will now report to Gerry Laderman, United's Chief Financial Officer.
Ankit Gupta
"As we work to deliver the best customer experience in North America with a dramatic increase in premium seats, Ankit's leadership in developing the United Next vision has us poised to exceed our customers' expectations as we meet the resurgence in air travel," said Nocella. "He has helped us execute network strategies that would ordinarily take years to develop in a matter of months. And as we play an ongoing and key role in the U.S. economic recovery, we will continue to shape our domestic network with a fleet that spans the CRJ-550 to cutting-edge mainline narrowbody aircraft."
Gupta, formerly Vice President of Network Planning and Scheduling, will now assume responsibility for the operation and strategy of the United Express network in addition to leading the domestic planning team. By linking the United Express operation more closely with the airline's domestic planning team, United expects to better optimize its network and deliver a better, more consistent experience with the products and services it offers.
Patrick Quayle
"Patrick continues to be instrumental in enhancing the alliances that benefit both United and our partners by helping us reach destinations each carrier is unable to serve with its fleet alone," said Nocella. "He led the design and interior configuration for more than 1,000 of our aircraft, including United Polaris, United Premium Plus and our high-premium Boeing 767-300ER aircraft and continues to reshape our network in the midst of a radically different demand environment, making the most of rapidly changing economic and passenger trends."
Quayle, also a former Vice President on United's network planning team, played a key role for the airline through the pandemic, leading the airline from just 10 daily international flights in early 2020 to now becoming the flag carrier of the U.S. as the largest international carrier in the country, with the largest trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific networks, as well as holding the position as the number one carrier to Central America.
Sarah Murphy
As the new leader of the Global Sourcing team, Murphy will leverage her experience leading teams in United's finance and operating groups and will build upon the procurement team's track record of success in driving efficiencies among the airline's vendors and suppliers to deliver for United's employees, customers and the communities it serves.
"With Sarah's extensive operating and capital budget expertise, and her deep knowledge of our operations, she is uniquely positioned to enhance our ability to source the goods and services we need in order to transform the customer experience and change the way people think about United while protecting the company's bottom line," said Laderman.
United Next
United is more focused than ever on its commitment to customers and employees. In addition to today's announcement, United has recently:
- Launched an ambitious plan to transform the United customer experience by adding and upgrading hundreds of aircraft as well as investing in features like larger overhead bins, seatback entertainment in every seat and the industry's fastest available Wi-Fi.
- Announced a goal to create 25,000 unionized jobs by 2026 that includes careers as pilots, flight attendants, agents, technicians, and dispatchers.
- Announced that United will train at least 5,000 pilots by 2030 through the United Aviate Academy, with the plan of at least half being women and people of color.
- Required all U.S. employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
- Became the first airline to offer customers the ability to check their destination's travel requirements, schedule COVID-19 tests and more on its mobile app and website.
- Invested in emerging technologies that are designed to decarbonize air travel, like an agreement to work with urban air mobility company Archer, an investment in aircraft startup Heart Aerospace and a purchase agreement with Boom Supersonic.
- Committed to going 100% green by 2050 by reducing 100% of our greenhouse gas emissions without relying on traditional carbon offsets, including a recent agreement to purchase one and a half times the amount of all of the rest of the world's airlines' publicly announced Sustainable Aviation Fuel commitments combined.
- Eliminated change fees for all economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S.
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." In 2019, United and United Express® carriers operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 162 million customers. United has the most comprehensive route network among North American carriers, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For more about how to join the United team, please visit united.com/careers and more information about the company is at united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
SOURCE United Airlines
For further information: United Airlines Worldwide Media Relations, +1-872-825-8640, media.relations@united.com
CHICAGO, Oct. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- United today announced that it will fly its biggest domestic schedule since the start of the pandemic to meet an expected surge in holiday travel, with an emphasis on connecting the Midwest to warm weather cities like Las Vegas and Orlando as well as offering nearly 70 daily flights to ski destinations, including new service between Orange County and Aspen.
According to United, holiday travel flight searches on united.com and the airline's app are up 16%, compared to 2019. The airline expects the busiest travel days for the Thanksgiving holiday will be Wednesday, November 24 and Sunday, November 28, while popular days for winter holiday travel are expected to be Thursday, December 23 and Sunday, January 2.
The airline plans to offer more than 3,500 daily domestic flights in December, representing 91% of its domestic capacity compared to 2019.
"We're seeing a lot of pent-up demand in our data and are offering a December schedule that centers on the two things people want most for the holidays: warm sunshine and fresh snow," said Ankit Gupta, vice president of network planning and scheduling at United. "We know families and friends are eager to reunite this holiday season, which is why we're thrilled to add new flights that will help them connect and celebrate together."
In December, United will begin new direct flights to Las Vegas and Phoenix from Cleveland, and to Orlando from Indianapolis. The carrier also will resume eight popular direct flights from Midwest cities, including routes to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa, offering the most mainline departures the airline has flown from Cleveland since 2014 including direct service to Nassau and Cancun. United will offer up to 195 daily flights to 12 destinations in Florida this winter, the most flights to the Sunshine State in company history. United is also resuming direct flights from Columbus, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh to Fort Myers – which were some of the airline's most popular point-to-point flights last winter.
Customers who prefer fresh powder can enjoy more flights to ski destinations with United than any other carrier. The airline offers 66 daily flights to over a dozen ski destinations across the U.S., including brand new service beginning this December between Orange County and Aspen. This winter season, United will have flights to Aspen/Snowmass, Bishop/Mammoth, Bozeman/Big Sky, Eagle/Vail, Kalispell, Gunnison/Crested Butte, Hayden/Steamboat Springs, Jackson Hole, Montrose/Telluride, Reno/Tahoe, Sun Valley from its hub airports.
Earlier this year, United announced that it will add 150 flights to warm-weather destinations this winter season. All of these flights and more are available now on united.com and United's mobile app.
Committed to Ensuring a Safe Journey
United is committed to putting health and safety at the forefront of every customer's journey, with the goal of delivering an industry-leading standard of cleanliness through its United CleanPlus℠ program. United has teamed up with Clorox and Cleveland Clinic to redefine cleaning and health safety procedures from check-in to landing and has implemented more than a dozen new policies, protocols and innovations designed with the safety of customers and employees in mind. Customers can review COVID-19 entry requirements, find local testing options and upload any required testing and vaccination records for domestic and international travel, all in United's Travel Ready Center. United was the first airline to integrate all these features into its mobile app and website.
United Next
United is more focused than ever on its commitment to customers and employees. In addition to today's announcement, United has recently:
- Launched an ambitious plan to transform the United customer experience by adding and upgrading hundreds of aircraft as well as investing in features like larger overhead bins, seatback entertainment in every seat and the industry's fastest available Wi-Fi.
- Announced a goal to create 25,000 unionized jobs by 2026 that includes careers as pilots, flight attendants, agents, technicians, and dispatchers.
- Announced that United will train at least 5,000 pilots by 2030 through the United Aviate Academy, with the plan of at least half being women and people of color.
- Required all U.S. employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
- Became the first airline to offer customers the ability to check their destination's travel requirements, schedule COVID-19 tests and more on its mobile app and website.
- Invested in emerging technologies that are designed to decarbonize air travel, like an agreement to work with urban air mobility company Archer, an investment in aircraft startup Heart Aerospace and a purchase agreement with Boom Supersonic.
- Committed to going 100% green by 2050 by reducing 100% of our greenhouse gas emissions without relying on traditional carbon offsets, including a recent agreement to purchase one and a half times the amount of all of the rest of the world's airlines' publicly announced Sustainable Aviation Fuel commitments combined.
- Eliminated change fees for all economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S.
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." In 2019, United and United Express® carriers operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 162 million customers. United has the most comprehensive route network among North American carriers, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For more about how to join the United team, please visit united