United Airlines warns Delta variant to hit revenue, capacity

  • United Airlines Holdings warned on Thursday its third-quarter revenue and capacity would take a hit from weaker travel demand due to a rise in Covid-19 cases fueled by the delta variant.
  • United expects revenue to fall 33% compared to the same period in 2019 and capacity to decline at least 28%, more than the 26% fall forecast earlier.
  • United said it could incur an adjusted pretax loss in the fourth quarter as well if the demand slowdown continued.

United Airlines Holdings warned on Thursday its third-quarter revenue and capacity would take a hit from weaker travel demand due to a rise in Covid-19 cases fueled by the delta variant. United expects revenue to fall 33% compared to the same period in 2019 and capacity to decline at least 28%, more than the 26% fall forecast earlier. The airline expects to post an adjusted pre-tax loss in the third quarter while it had previously forecast adjusted pre-tax income of $82 million. United said it could incur an adjusted pretax loss in the fourth quarter as well if the demand slowdown continued.