Chief Executive Officer & Director, United Airlines Holdings Inc
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby Talks Earnings, Fare Increases | Bloomberg Talks
United Airlines shares fall as much as 2.3% in premarket trading on Thursday after the airline reported second-quarter earnings. The midpoint of its updated full-year adjusted EPS forecast trailed the average analyst estimate. Speaking on Bloomberg Surveillance, CEO Scott Kirby says more fare increases are possible.
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About J. Kirby
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in July 2026 that the company had navigated a $6 billion increase in fuel costs compared to its expectations at the start of the year, and that the airline was raising its guidance and had "a shot at growing earnings on a year over year basis." He described travel demand as "incredibly strong" and said the company had implemented multiple fare increases, with another occurring that week. Kirby stated that airfares in real terms remained about 13% below pre-COVID levels, and that the airline's overall cost base—including airport fees, maintenance, and labor—had risen more than fuel prices. He attributed the company's performance to the "United Next" strategy and the work of United's employees. Kirby also discussed industry challenges, including engine supply constraints that he said would hold back aircraft deliveries for at least five years. He said United had ordered excess aircraft in anticipation of such problems. On the topic of a potential merger with American Airlines, Kirby said he believed it would be "great for customers" and would help build "the best airline in history," but acknowledged that the idea had generated a strong reaction and that such a deal would require a willing partner. He also expressed interest in expanding United's international network, noting that international routes had performed well for the airline.
Transcript (16 segments)
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Narrator0:02
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
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Interviewer0:07
Earning season ramping up with results from the major airlines. United boosting its full-year outlook citing strong consumer demand even in the face of higher fuel prices. The United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby saying, 'United is built to thrive in every environment. Our brand loyal customers value their travel on United whether they're in Polaris or an economy.' United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby joins the program for more. Scott, welcome to the program, sir. It's good to see you. Before we get into the results, I just want to take a step back because if we were back in the middle of March and I was sitting here and you were telling me what you were about to do, I'd be like, 'Scott Kirby's gone nuts because energy prices have gone skyhigh. People are going to stop flying. They just won't pay up.' Scott, can you take us behind the scenes how you and the company navigated that energy shock over the past few months?
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Scott Kirby0:54
You know, thanks for having me this morning. And really it is pretty remarkable. You look kind of at the full year at what happened. Fuel prices are up $6 billion compared to what we thought at the start of the year. And that compares to the best year in history where we made a little under $5 billion. And the fact that we're sitting here today raising guidance and talking about at least having a shot at growing earnings on a year-over-year basis is a remarkable testament to the strength of demand and the demand and the economy are really strong. But also that United Airlines has had the right brand loyal United Next strategy that we had is the right strategy and the people of United are doing a better job than any airline anywhere in the world at implementing that, at taking care of customers, and we've been able to attract enough of those brand loyal customers to United that we've mostly been able to overcome the fuel price spike. So, I'm really proud of the team for what they've done in a tough environment to make it feel just normal if you're flying on United or if you're working at United.
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Interviewer1:52
Scott, I remember earlier this year we were talking about how you expected demand destruction as prices got higher. You didn't see that. Neither did other people. And you said you were surprised that you didn't see more demand destruction. Are you starting to see any signs of that or at least customer fatigue in pricing?
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Scott Kirby2:09
No, we aren't. Demand is incredibly strong for us. In fact, our fourth quarter yields are booked 14 points higher at this point in time than they were at the same point in time for 3Q. Corporate demand so far in July is up 30%. We really haven't. And I think as you sort of take a step back from it, and look at what's really happened, it's air travel share of the travel pie got really really small coming out of COVID. And even with fares where they are today, air travel prices are 13% lower in real terms than they were pre-COVID. Well, hotels are up significantly and cruise lines and rental cars and everything else is up. And so I think we're just returning to a normal historic share of the travel pie for air travel. So the total cost of the trip is staying consistent with inflation, but after underindexing to airlines, it's now overindexing to airlines. And so the total cost of the trip isn't changing nearly as much as just airfares returning to the normal historical relationship that we've had to air to the total travel pie.
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Interviewer3:12
Oil prices have continued to inflect upward as a result of a new resurgence in the conflict in the Middle East. And I'm just wondering is there more room to go with respect to responding to those extra oil price costs with higher fares going forward?
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Scott Kirby3:27
Well, you know, like I said, airfares are down 13% in real terms from pre-COVID. So, a short answer is yes. And in fact, there's been another fare increase this week. There were five or six when oil prices first spiked and then when oil came down they sort of paused but there was another one this week and so demand is strong, the consumer is strong, and it really is like our overall cost base is not just airfares but our cost base with airport fees and maintenance and labor those have actually gone up even more and so it really is just a case of recovering all the inflationary cost increases that have happened, and recovering from the COVID trough in pricing.
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Interviewer4:08
We were joking, Scott, earlier that the airline industry also is an AI trade for a lot of different reasons, but in part because of the business travel and how much is picked up. How much do you see that being driven by all the capital markets activity that we keep talking about with the big banks, the idea that everyone needs to fly around, meet their clients as they prepare for these incredible fundraising exercises?
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Scott Kirby4:28
Well, I think it's probably more translated through in just what it means for the overall economy as opposed to just specific the AI trade. But the economy is strong and part of it is AI and all the buildout that's happening with AI. But as I said, 30% up in business travel so far in July. Business demand is really strong. The US economy is really strong and we're a beneficiary of that.
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Interviewer4:52
One thing that we've seen is increasing creativity when it comes to how you approach different premium offerings. The latest being that in premium economy or economy plus the middle seat gets blocked out and there's a shared table. I mean, is there something different about the creativity being used recently? Whether it's different types of offerings, different segmentation, more specific offers to different slices of the consumer base.
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Scott Kirby5:18
We really are trying to build a great brand loyal airline nose to tail. We're investing heavily in premium, but we're investing just as heavily in the economy cabin. We recognize that today's basic economy customer is tomorrow's Polaris customer. And we're just trying to build a great airline for everyone. And Starlink is an example. The relax row, which is in economy, I think one of the coolest things we've done in a long time. A blocked middle seat in coach is just another example. At United, we really are trying to just try everything that we can to make the experience better for customers. And believing that if we do that, we will have a brand loyal customer base that does really well when times are good. But it's also worth proving how resilient we are in times where something like this oil price spike happens. I mean, the fact that we've got oil prices up $6 billion year-over-year, and we have a legitimate shot at growing earnings on a year-over-year basis, is just a remarkable testament to what it means to invest for the customer and get customers to want to fly us to decommoditize this industry. And really proud of the United team for what they've done to execute on that strategy.
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Interviewer6:28
Scott, more people in New York might be more willing to fly you when you get back to JFK. Is that still in the works for next year?
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Scott Kirby6:36
That is. We're very excited about it. Looking forward to getting back to JFK. Looking forward to once we're back to JFK. We'll be the only airline with Starlink on the airplanes for those of you that care about high true high speed Wi-Fi. We'll be the only ones in those markets. Looking forward to it.
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Interviewer6:50
Scott, I love the idea of relax row. When I was a teenager, young in my 20s flying, when I saw an empty row of three seats and the plane taking off, I'd never been more excited. And as soon as you got up to about 35,000 feet, I was on it trying to lie down and move the armrest to make this work. Scott, have you had that idea for a long time?
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Scott Kirby7:12
I've wanted to do it. In fairness, Air New Zealand is the one that came up with it and I've wanted to do it ever since they did it. And now we are. I'm excited about it. By the way, I spent a number of trips when I was young and non-revving doing the same thing. When we get to be our age, it's a lot harder to do that on those three seats. And so the relax row is going to be a lot better. And plus, you can hang out with your kids. Of all the stuff we've done, I personally think it is one of the coolest things we've done. It's going to be great for kids and families.
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Interviewer7:40
Very cool. Scott, it's good to see you. Appreciate your time. Thank you. Scott Kirby there, the United Airlines CEO. On a fantastic quarter for them.