United Takes $2.1 Billion Loss for First Quarter

United Airlines is reporting a $2.1 billion loss in the first quarter, the airline’s largest since the 2008 financial crisis.

As the coronavirus outbreak has canceled travel plans around the world, the airline has applied for up to $4.5 billion in government loans in addition to $5 billion in federal payroll grants and loans United expects to receive, according to a report on CNBC.

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United said that revenue fell 17 percent in the first quarter of the year to $8 billion and the airline doesn’t expect a swift return to its business when the economy reopens.

Earlier this month, United’s CEO Oscar Munoz and president Scott Kirby detailed the challenges that the airline faces in the coming months, noting that travel demand is “essentially zero.”

"We have now essentially redesigned our network to be down 90 percent while complying with the CARES Act and maintaining connectivity among nearly all our domestic destinations,” said Munoz and Kirby. "To help you understand how few people are flying in this environment, less than 200,000 people flew with us during the first two weeks of April this year, compared to more than 6 million during the same time in 2019, a 97 percent drop.”