The holding company for United and Continental Airlines has announced first-quarter losses of US$136 million, excluding special charges including those related to the integration process.
The figure is actually an improvement of US$47 million compared to last year (calculating using the consolidated figures for the two carriers prior to the merger in October 2010).
Passenger revenue across the two carriers was up 9.9 per cent, although the group said that rising fuel prices “largely offset the improvement”, with consolidated fuel expenses (excluding the impact of hedges) up 34.5 per cent or US$725 million.
UAL said that the decline in demand for travel to Japan following the earthquake and tsunami had resulted in a decrease in passenger revenue of US£30 million, with capacity to Japan being reduced by approximately 10 per cent in April and 14 per cent in May.
The integration process of the two carriers continues, with milestones including the decision to retain United’s Economy Plus seating (and expand it into Continental’s fleet in 2012), and the co-location of check-in, ticket counter and gate facilities at 36 airports. More than 30 per cent of the total fleet has now also been repainted in the new United livery.
For more information visit unitedcontinentalholdings.com, united.com, continental.com.
Report by Mark Caswell