United Airlines CEO Says Business Back to Almost Full Recovery

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby spoke to Bloomberg about earnings, as well as tariffs, Boeing and Newark Airport.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. said the second half of the year has become more predictable and suggested it may be able to beat its earnings targets after customers resumed booking flights following a tumultuous start to 2025.

United rose 5.8% to $93.61 in early trading in New York, pulling up other carriers. The airline narrowed the range for its full-year earnings target to a band of $9 to $11, and Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby called the goal conservative that has possible “upside.”

“You can’t stay on the sidelines forever,” Kirby said about travel in a Bloomberg Television interview. “It was like a light switch at the end of June for business.”

The aviation industry has been whipsawed this year as consumers fret over the fallout from tariffs and inflation, and as disruptions at key airports like Newark Liberty International Airport near New York, a major United hub, deterred customers. Delta Air Lines Inc. said last week that travel in the US is recovering after approval of US President Donald Trump’s tax-cut and spending package and progress in tariff negotiations eased economic uncertainty.

The Chicago-based airline joined Delta in offering a clearer path for the year, citing a double-digit acceleration in business demand so far this month compared with the second quarter.

At the same time, the recovery among budget-minded customers is still only at about 50% of what the company expected at the start of the year, and travelers from Europe as well as the inflow of international students has also slowed, Kirby said.

“The company is executing well on controllable costs and, with second-half demand looking healthy, should be well positioned to keep taking domestic share and drive margins higher,” Tom Fitzgerald, a TD Cowen analyst, said in a note.

The airline had a second-quarter adjusted profit per share of $3.87, while analysts polled by Bloomberg were expecting $3.84. Quarterly revenue rose 1.7%, falling short of analysts’ expectations.

Second-quarter revenue per seat mile dropped 4% from a year ago after United was forced to cut prices to win back travelers. Flight disruptions caused by air traffic control outages and runway construction at its Newark Liberty International Airport hub drove some passengers to other airlines.

Newark is United’s largest hub for international flights and a gateway for its domestic system, meaning delays often ripple across its network. US aviation regulators limited hourly flights at the airport after the series of telecommunications and technology disruptions earlier in the year.

The Newark disruptions cut about 1.2 percentage points from United’s 11% pretax margin for the second quarter, with a 0.9 point hit expected for the third quarter.

The airport accounts for about 20% of United’s system capacity and domestic revenue, according to Jay Cushing, a GimmeCredit analyst. United is still operating fewer daily flights at Newark than before the pandemic.

“Broad demand has accelerated,” Jefferies Analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu said in a research note to clients. She has said it would take at least another quarter to reverse the effect of travelers avoiding United because of safety or delay concerns at Newark.

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