“Corporate was strong across the board,” according to Andrew Nocella, chief commercial officer for United Airlines, speaking on a first quarter earnings call. He said the carrier saw nine of its top 10 corporate booking days in its history this year, with the stronger industries being professional services, tech and industrials. First quarter corporate is really important to the carrier, he said, and the fact that it gained strength during the period is “really very good” for the outlook for future first quarters.

Nocella said managed corporate travel was up 14% year over year, adding that yields for managed travel grew faster than non-managed travel due to stronger close-in pricing and refined discounting guidelines. “The strength of the business traffic rebound is a nice development for an airline like United,” he said.

Scott Kirby, CEO, said the carrier welcomes the FAA’s recently announced increased oversight of the airline, saying that United is “embracing this review as an opportunity to take our safety culture standards to an even higher level.”

Because of the safety review, certain certifications will be delayed, said Brett Hart, president, adding that the carrier expects a “small number” of aircraft scheduled for delivery in the second quarter to be delayed, though this will have a “minimal impact to our 2024 capacity plans.”

United reported first-quarter passenger revenue of more than $11.3 billion, up 10.1% year over year. Total revenue was more than $12.5 billion, representing a 9.7% increase compared with a year earlier. 

The carrier reported a first quarter net loss of $124 million, down from the loss of $194 million in the first quarter of 2023. Executives said the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft in January cost the carrier about $200 million, and without that situation the airline would have been profitable during the quarter.

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