UNITED Airlines reported another quarterly loss yesterday on the lingering drag from Covid-19 but offered an upbeat outlook on a travel comeback later this year and in future years.

The US carrier acknowledged that it is beginning 2022 “with a scaled-back schedule” following the latest uptick in virus cases, but will “nimbly ramp up” capacity later in the year, according to a news release.

“While Omicron is impacting near-term demand, we remain optimistic about the spring and excited about the summer and beyond,” said United chief executive Scott Kirby.

United reported a fourth-quarter loss of US$646 million (RM2.7 billion), about a third of the loss from the year-ago period, but far from the US$641 million profit in the 2019 period.

Revenues were US$8.2 billion, more than twice the level in 2020 but a 25% drop from the figure in the 2019 quarter.

The period covered by the release started buoyantly, with airlines seeing increased bookings as Covid-19 vaccinations were rolled out and most of the US economy reopened.

But hopes dimmed later in the quarter as the Omicron variant surfaced as a major worry, prompting thousands of flight cancelations over the holidays because US carriers temporarily lost airline staff who were infected.

United projected its first-quarter capacity will be down 16 to 18% compared to 2019 levels. It also expects 2022 capacity to be below the level of 2019.

United shares fell 1.4% to US$43.79 in after-hours trading. – AFP, January 20, 2022.