Airline Beats the Odds, Reporting Record First-Quarter Profit

Major carrier United Airlines recently shared its first-quarter financial results, revealing the strongest performance in five years with a record revenue of $13.2 billion. Though it beat the odds at the beginning of 2025, the rest of the year isn’t looking quite so bright.

The airline reported a 0.5% growth in total revenue per available seat mile (RASM) and first quarter pre-tax earnings of $478 million. Its total $13.21 billion revenue marks a 5% boost from last year, though it came in slightly below the $13.26 prediction.

United also saw strong revenue bumps across nearly all of its bookings, with a year-over-year increase of 9.2% for premium cabin, 7.4% for business, and 7.6% for basic economy. International travel climbed 4.7% for Atlantic RASM and 8.5% for Pacific RASM. These rates are slated to remain strong as the year goes on, showing an increase in forward bookings of 17% for premium cabins and 5% for international compared to last year.

Domestic flights were slightly less successful, reporting a 3.9% drop in revenue from 2024. To match this demand, United plans to cut several flights over the summer to focus efforts on pricier international trips.

These stats put United in an impressively stable position, especially considering the chaos that has taken over the industry in the last five years. According to airline CEO Scott Kirby, the method used to battle recent struggles “was simple: Build the best airline in the world to attract brand-loyal customers.”

While much of the first-quarter report was positive, United made a somewhat unexpected addition to its forecasts for the rest of 2025. It did not alter its initial full-year forecast but clarified that the economy has become “impossible to predict” and a recession is far from unthinkable. If one were to occur, January’s prediction for adjusted earnings per share of $11.50 to $13.50 would fall to somewhere between $7 and $9.

"Our ability to win brand-loyal customers and the resiliency of our business is a competitive advantage, and we are accelerating our investments in our product, service, technology and experience to further expand that lead,” Kirby stated.

FMI: www.united.com