by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:30 AM ET, Wed October 16, 2024
United Airlines posted a better third quarter financial result on October 16, announcing positive trends year over year and the first share repurchase program since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I appreciate the entire United team coming together to take care of our customers by operating a safe and on-time airline this summer," said United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby. "As predicted, unproductive capacity left the market in mid-August, and we saw a clear inflection point in our revenue trends that propelled United to exceed Q3 expectations. A prosperous summer 2024 is just the beginning as our improved customer experience combined with United Next positions the airline at the top of the industry for the foreseeable future."
Positive Financial Results, New $1.5 Billion Share Repurchase Program
The airline improved capacity year over year by 4.1 percent, earned a total operating revenue of $14.8 billion (an increase of 2.5 percent year over year) and reported an adjusted net income of $1.1 billion this past quarter.
Shareholders also earned an adjusted diluted earnings per share of $3.33, which is a few cents higher than the original prediction for the quarter, which was in a range between $2.75 and $3.25.
United’s corporate revenue grew 13 percent in September from the same time last year, while the quarter premium revenues increased 5 percent and Basic Economy revenues increased 20 percent.
With the positive signs for the airline, United announced a new share repurchase program for up to $1.5 billion of outstanding shares of common stock, which is approximately 7 percent of the company’s market capitalization.
Quarterly Achievements & Developments
United Airlines announced several big developments in the past quarter, which was the busiest third quarter by revenue passenger volumes in the company’s history. July 4 and Labor Day both set records, while July saw the airline flying 552,000 passengers on average each day.
September 2024 also set a new company record during the month, at 474,000 passengers flown each day on average.
United also announced an agreement with SpaceX to bring Starlink’s Wi-Fi service to over 1,000 aircraft, beginning in late 2025.
The airline also announced its largest international expansion in history, with eight new Atlantic and Pacific destinations next summer, including Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Nuuk, Greenland.
United also became the first airline to use sustainable aviation fuel at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport in July.
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