by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:50 AM ET, Wed April 19, 2023
United Airlines plane taking off. (photo via United Airlines Media)
As part of United
Airlines’ first-quarter 2023 financial results report, the company
highlighted its capacity and operating revenue growth to start the year.
In the first quarter, United reported a net loss of $194
million and an average fuel price per gallon of $3.33. The carrier also
revealed that capacity grew by 23.4 percent compared to the first quarter of
last year, while total operating revenue reached $11.4 billion, a 51.1 percent
increase from 2022.
In addition to reducing adjusted total debt by $4.6 billion over
the last 12 months, the airline announced several recent accomplishments,
including its largest
South Pacific network expansion ever, a new family seating policy and the addition
of Oscar the Grouch as its first Chief Trash Officer.
“I am extremely proud of the United team's performance
during the first quarter of 2023,” CEO Scott Kirby said. “Our industry-leading
operational performance contributed to an all-time high operating cash flow in
the first quarter and keeps us on track to achieve our cost targets for the
full year.”
In terms of operational performance, United achieved the
lowest first-quarter seat-cancel rate (1.09 percent) since the first quarter of
2012, with the carrier flying the most mainline seats (413,000) in company
history and the most mainline flights (2,300) daily for the quarter.
The airline’s network also grew, with domestic premium seat
capacity jumping by 25 percent, non-stop service between Shanghai and San
Francisco resuming and the joint business agreement with Air Canada adding new
routes between Canada and the U.S. for summer 2023.
“We are watching the macroeconomic risks carefully, but
demand remains strong, especially internationally, where we are growing at twice
the domestic rate,” Kirby continued. “We expect all of these factors will keep
us on track to achieve our full-year adjusted diluted EPS1 target.”
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