Star Metro - United Airlines triples Q2 profits on strong demand

The big US carrier raised its full-year profit forecast following the better-than-expected results, even as total seat capacity lagged expectations for the period.

Profits were $1.1 billion compared with $329 million in the year-ago period, while revenues rose 17 percent to $14.2 billion.

International travel capacity jumped 27 percent compared with the year-ago level.

The results showed no financial hit from the difficulties that befell the company in the final week of the quarter at its Newark, New Jersey hub as bad weather in the New York area prompted thousands of flight cancelations at Newark and the other two New York area airports.

But United, which had previously projected an 18.5 percent jump in capacity, instead reported a rise of 17.5 percent in the second quarter.

As the situation at Newark stabilized earlier this month, United Chief Executive Scott Kirby told employees in a memo that the carrier would reduce capacity at Newark to allow more flexibility in case of bad weather.

Kirby, who had blamed short staffing at the Federal Aviation Administration for exacerbating the Newark issues, alluded to the difficulties in United's earnings press release.

"The United team persevered through an unprecedented series of events at the end of last month," Kirby said. "They are the best in the business and we're focused on the important changes we can make, especially in Newark, to serve our customers even better."

Shares rose 2.7 percent to $56.25 in after-hours trading.

S.Belanger--SMC