A plane is leaving Los Angeles. William Derrickson is the author of AirlineGeeks.
Rival legacy carriers American Airlines and United Airlines released their fourth quarter and full year earnings on Thursday. Delta Air Lines had a lead on the top and bottom lines.
The total load factor, a measure of the number of passengers flown divided by available seats, was 72.2% for the full year, falling behind the year before. American had a load factor of 75.3%. Delta said last week that it had filled almost all of its seats.
The Omicron variant surge in the fourth quarter hampered the goal of returning to sustained profitability as the industry continues to reel from the Covid-19 pandemic. After adjusting for one-time items, United posted a net loss of $500 million during the fourth quarter. The Fort Worth, Texas-based competitor reported a $921 million net loss.
Both airlines expressed optimism for a busy spring and summer travel season, despite Delta's warning of downward pressure on load factors through the beginning of 2022. Some parts of the world may have restrictions on travel that may make it difficult for passengers to book international itineraries.
Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, said in a statement that the team has been fighting through unprecedented obstacles to overcome the new and daunting challenges that Covid-19 is bringing to aviation. We are excited about the summer and remain optimistic about the spring. We anticipate getting the full airline back to normal utilization this year as we ramp up along with demand, and we look forward to returning the Pratt & Whitney 777s to service this quarter.
Robert Isom expressed the same sentiment in a press release before the markets opened. The legacy carrier with the most debt, American, is looking to change that in the new year.
Isom said that they were proud of the way their team delivered. We will focus on running a reliable airline, returning to profitability, and delivering on our long-term plan to deleverage the balance sheet in the years to come.
There is an American Airlines plane at the airport. William Derrickson is the author of AirlineGeeks.
United grounded 52 of its Boeing 777s after an uncontained engine failure on an aircraft leaving Denver in 2021. The airline said that it will experience significant aircraft utilization improvements as it gradually ungrounds the aircraft moving into the first half of the year.
The airline said it expects to fly less capacity in the years to come. American did not give the same full-year guidance, but said investors should expect first-quarter capacity to be 10% lower than the same period in 2019.
Southwest Airlines will give its traffic and financial figures on January 27. Southwest will provide a different look at the industry than the three legacy carriers have given in the past week.
Allegiant Air, a low-cost carrier with a domestic focus, shared recently its December and full-year traffic numbers, which showed the airline was flying more seats than at the end of 2019. The airline's load factor declined 4% compared to the same period two years prior.
American Airlines hosted its call at 8:30 a.m., while United hosted its call at 10:30 a.m.
In 2016 he joined AirlineGeeks as a writer and photographer, combining his love for aviation with a newfound passion for journalism. He became Editor-in-Chief of the site in 2020. He left behind his hometown of Dallas to attend college in North Carolina, where he is studying economics.
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