by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:15 AM ET, Tue January 23, 2024
United Airlines reported its year-end and fourth-quarter 2023 financial results this week, provided an update on its future aircraft as well as announced a new route from Washington, D.C. to Anchorage, Alaska in a busy week for the airline.
"Our plans really came together in 2023, and I want to thank the United team for all of the hard work it took to get us there," said United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby. "Despite unpredictable headwinds, we delivered on our ambitious EPS target that few thought possible – and set new operational records for our customers. Looking ahead, we expect these trends to continue and United is incredibly well positioned to capitalize on them and to deliver on our short and long-term financial targets."
A Look At United’s 2023 Financial Report
United Airlines saw its busiest travel period in history during the last two weeks of December, flying 8.2 million travelers, which is an average of 483,000 each day. The airline also broke its yearly passenger total record, flying 165 million travelers.
Last year, the airline saw a 16 percent increase in premium cabin revenue for the third quarter when compared to 2022, while basic economy grew 20 percent. Capacity grew 14.7 percent year-over-year.
United Airlines reported an adjusted net income of $3.3 billion, with diluted earnings per share of $7.89. It also accrued $681 million for employee profit sharing in 2023.
Boeing and the Future of United’s Fleet
United’s CEO Scott Kirby announced this week during an interview with CNBC that the company will not be expanding the fleet with the Boeing 737 MAX 10 jets, the production of which he noted was five years delayed. According to Reuters, the airline ordered 150 of them in 2021.
It also grounded its 75 Boeing MAX 9 aircraft following the January 5 incident when a cabin panel came off one of the planes on an Alaska Airlines flight, prompting the FAA to ground them indefinitely while inspections and investigations are made.
In 2023, the airline flew the first revenue flight of the A321neo, with great success. The airline reported in its financial statement that it expects 110 new aircraft to be delivered in 2028, though it did not specify what type of aircraft they were.
United also launched the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund, an investment arm that seeks to support start-ups focusing on sustainable aviation fuel research and production. It has supported sustainable aviation fuels with $200 million since its launch.
New Routes and Key Expansions
Just this week, United Airlines announced it was expanding into Alaska for the very first time, with a route between Washington, D.C.’s Washington-Dulles International Airport and Anchorage’s Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, beginning this May.
In 2023, the airline launched new routes between Denver and the Caribbean and between the U.S. and Christchurch, Malaga and Dubai; the first non-stop flight between Newark and Faro, Portugal; and resumed daily service to China with a route between Beijing and San Francisco.
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