{"id":162566,"date":"2025-04-16T22:10:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T22:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/16\/united-cuts-flights-but-still-sees-strength-for-international-vacations-and-premium-seats-the-points-guy\/"},"modified":"2025-04-16T22:10:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T22:10:28","slug":"united-cuts-flights-but-still-sees-strength-for-international-vacations-and-premium-seats-the-points-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/16\/united-cuts-flights-but-still-sees-strength-for-international-vacations-and-premium-seats-the-points-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"United cuts flights, but still sees strength for international vacations and premium seats &#8211; The Points Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>United Airlines is slashing early-morning and late-night flights, citing softening demand and growing economic concerns. Yet, the airline says its core base of customers is planning another summer flying to far-flung destinations in premium seats.<\/p>\n<p>This week the Chicago-based carrier <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/united-airlines-reports-best-first-quarter-financial-performance-in-five-years-despite-challenging-macroeconomic-environment-302429540.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reported<\/a> a $387 million profit during the first three months of 2025. That was far better than last year, and it was no small feat: The first quarter tends to be the weakest, every year, for airlines, and many don&#8217;t turn profits at all.<\/p>\n<p>United fell victim to the same forces that have <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/delta-air-lines-q1earnings-2025\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">beset much of the U.S. airline and travel industry<\/a> in recent weeks, amid President Donald Trump&#8217;s trade war: plummeting demand from would-be customers abroad \u2014 particularly in Canada and Europe \u2014  along with growing concern from U.S. consumers and a steep drop-off in government travel.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-1853040249 tpg-figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0\" class=\"jsx-36530878 full-width-auto-height-image\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:66.6875%\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/12\/20241220_Plane-Spotting-Assorted_SCudahy-132.jpg?width=640 640w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/12\/20241220_Plane-Spotting-Assorted_SCudahy-132.jpg?width=750 750w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/12\/20241220_Plane-Spotting-Assorted_SCudahy-132.jpg?width=828 828w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/12\/20241220_Plane-Spotting-Assorted_SCudahy-132.jpg?width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/12\/20241220_Plane-Spotting-Assorted_SCudahy-132.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/12\/20241220_Plane-Spotting-Assorted_SCudahy-132.jpg?width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/12\/20241220_Plane-Spotting-Assorted_SCudahy-132.jpg?width=2048 2048w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/12\/20241220_Plane-Spotting-Assorted_SCudahy-132.jpg?width=3840 3840w\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/12\/20241220_Plane-Spotting-Assorted_SCudahy-132.jpg?width=3840\"\/><\/noscript><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"jsx-1853040249 figcaption\">United Airlines aircraft at Washington&#8217;s Dulles International Airport (IAD). SEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;I feel like we&#8217;re marching toward a recession scenario,&#8221; United chief financial officer Michael Leskinen acknowledged on a conference call Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sca.isr.umich.edu\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">study<\/a> released last week by the University of Michigan found consumer sentiment fell for the fourth straight month, amid growing concerns about personal finances and recessions. The consumer sentiment reading was down 30% from December.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"cutting-flights-amid-growing-financial-concerns\" class=\"jsx-2362441780 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-2362441780\">Cutting flights amid growing financial concerns<\/h2>\n<p>To fend off lower travel demand than the airline had expected at the start of the year, United this week said it&#8217;s cutting flights during off-peak hours \u2014 particularly departures earlier than 7 a.m. or later than 8 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>The most dramatic changes will start during the third quarter of this year, executives said.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s on top of capacity cuts the carrier also made, including on <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/airlines-cut-canada-flights-bookings-plummet\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">routes between the U.S. and Canada<\/a> \u2014 along with red-eye flights and on routes historically buoyed by travelers flying on official U.S. government business.<\/p>\n<p>April-through-June bookings from passengers originating in Europe are currently down 6% versus last year, the airline shared \u2014 and down 9% from Canada-originating passengers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"EmailSignUp_container__qYzYT tw-border tw-border-gray-2\"><picture class=\"EmailSignUp_graphic__zgpFm tw-opacity-0\"><source media=\"screen and (max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"\/images\/EmailSignUp\/daily-mob.svg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/images\/EmailSignUp\/daily-dt.svg\"\/><\/picture>\n<div class=\"EmailSignUp_form__C8FWb\">\n<p>Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG\u2019s experts<\/p>\n<form class=\"jsx-1071010234 newsletter-form\">\n<div class=\"jsx-1071010234 EmailCapture_confirmation__xasB3 EmailCapture_noCheckbox__n4fsN   \">\n<p class=\"tw-text-xs-regular !tw-text-gray-4 hover:!tw-text-gray-4 tw-max-w-lg\">By signing up, you will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our<!-- --> <a class=\"!tw-text-gray-4 hover:!tw-text-gray-4\" href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/terms-of-use\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Terms of Use<\/a> <!-- -->and acknowledge the data practices in our<!-- --> <a class=\"!tw-text-gray-4 hover:!tw-text-gray-4\" href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/privacy-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You may unsubscribe at any time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a id=\"united-reports-silver-linings\" class=\"jsx-2362441780 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-2362441780\">United reports silver linings<\/h2>\n<p>But United executives, speaking to Wall Street, pointed to a few silver linings.<\/p>\n<h3>Drop-off &#8216;stabilized&#8217; &#8230; for now, at least<\/h3>\n<p>While bookings dropped sharply several weeks ago, the drop-off hasn&#8217;t continued to get worse \u2014 at least so far \u2014 chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella told analysts.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a tremendous amount of uncertainty in the economy right now and we&#8217;ve already seen a reduction in demand,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;But we&#8217;ve seen stability at that lower demand level in the last six weeks.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Bookings for the peak summer travel season, he noted, are actually \u2014 ever so slightly \u2014 ahead of this point last year.<\/p>\n<h3>Premium, international still going strong<\/h3>\n<p>What&#8217;s more: the carrier, which has increasingly aimed to cater (like Delta Air Lines) to high-dollar travelers, remains bullish on its eclectic long-haul route network and its array of upscale offerings, from its Premium Plus premium economy cabin to its <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/airline\/united-polaris-review-787-9\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Polaris business-class product.<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-1853040249 tpg-figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0\" class=\"jsx-36530878 full-width-auto-height-image\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:66.6875%\"\/><img alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241025_United-Inaugural-EWR-RAK_SCudahy-48.jpg?width=640 640w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241025_United-Inaugural-EWR-RAK_SCudahy-48.jpg?width=750 750w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241025_United-Inaugural-EWR-RAK_SCudahy-48.jpg?width=828 828w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241025_United-Inaugural-EWR-RAK_SCudahy-48.jpg?width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241025_United-Inaugural-EWR-RAK_SCudahy-48.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241025_United-Inaugural-EWR-RAK_SCudahy-48.jpg?width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241025_United-Inaugural-EWR-RAK_SCudahy-48.jpg?width=2048 2048w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241025_United-Inaugural-EWR-RAK_SCudahy-48.jpg?width=3840 3840w\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241025_United-Inaugural-EWR-RAK_SCudahy-48.jpg?width=3840\"\/><\/noscript><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"jsx-1853040249 figcaption\">SEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The airline remains on track to launch service to an array of alluring new destinations next month, including nonstop service to<a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/united-airlines-new-routes-summer-2025\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Greenland, Mongolia and Sicily.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So far we&#8217;ve seen no deterioration in high-end consumers willing to purchase a premium experience,&#8221; Nocella said Wednesday. &#8220;We attribute this to the fact that the economic uncertainty has a larger impact on more budget-minded, discretionary travelers than those seeking a premium experience.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>United executives further argued the airline&#8217;s loyal customer base will be a stalwart for the airline \u2014 far more than its competitors \u2014 even if economic conditions worsen.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s worth noting, that&#8217;s a slightly different take than the one offered this week by the chief executive of one of the nation&#8217;s top budget airlines, who claimed souring economic conditions could be good for the low-cost airline industry.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In any type of recessionary or economically-challenged environment, the &#8216;Walmart effect&#8217; \u2014 businesses like ours do well,&#8221; Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said in an<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XzhBcTADgxo\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> interview<\/a> with NBC News.<\/p>\n<p>Frontier and its low-cost competitors have encountered their fair share of hurdles in recent years, trailing larger network carriers \u2014 United among them \u2014 in profitability.<\/p>\n<h3>Cobrand card spending not letting up<\/h3>\n<p>Another sign consumers haven&#8217;t entirely thrown in the towel on big purchases: spending on United&#8217;s portfolio of <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/credit-cards\/united\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">cobranded credit cards<\/a>, during the first three months of the year, was up 9% versus last year, the airline reported.<\/p>\n<p>Those spending trends, Nocella noted, appeared to continue into early April.<\/p>\n<p>Still, executives said more cuts to the airline&#8217;s flying schedule could come if the economic outlook deteriorates further.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/united-credit-card-refresh-2025\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>United credit cards add statement credits and higher annual fees \u2014 is it worth keeping your card?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"old-aircraft-retired\" class=\"jsx-2362441780 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-2362441780\">Old aircraft retired<\/h2>\n<p>As part of cuts to its flying schedule in 2025, United moved up the retirement date for 21 of its oldest planes.<\/p>\n<p>The airline has orders for hundreds of new jets over the coming years, with a particular focus on long haul-capable widebody aircraft<a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/united-airlines-orders-boeing-787\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-1853040249 tpg-figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0\" class=\"jsx-36530878 full-width-auto-height-image\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:66.67999999999999%\"\/><img alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2022\/12\/United-Boeing-Charleston-39.jpg?width=640 640w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2022\/12\/United-Boeing-Charleston-39.jpg?width=750 750w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2022\/12\/United-Boeing-Charleston-39.jpg?width=828 828w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2022\/12\/United-Boeing-Charleston-39.jpg?width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2022\/12\/United-Boeing-Charleston-39.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2022\/12\/United-Boeing-Charleston-39.jpg?width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2022\/12\/United-Boeing-Charleston-39.jpg?width=2048 2048w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2022\/12\/United-Boeing-Charleston-39.jpg?width=3840 3840w\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2022\/12\/United-Boeing-Charleston-39.jpg?width=3840\"\/><\/noscript><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"jsx-1853040249 figcaption\">DAVID SLOTNICK\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"starlink-launches-next-month\" class=\"jsx-2362441780 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-2362441780\">Starlink launches next month<\/h2>\n<p>United remains on track to launch the first service on a United Express regional jet featuring its new fast, free <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/united-airlines-starlink-wifi-free\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Starlink-powered Wi-Fi service<\/a>. That launch is slated for next month, Nocella shared Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>TPG last month got a <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/united-airlines-starlink-wifi-behind-the-scenes\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">behind-the-scenes look<\/a> at the installation process on board an Embraer 175 aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>The first United mainline jet should be flying with the new internet service by the end of 2025, executives reiterated Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Access will be free for <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/loyalty-programs\/know-united-mileageplus\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MileagePlus<\/a> members.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"more-gates-in-at-o-hare\" class=\"jsx-2362441780 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-2362441780\">More gates in at O&#8217;Hare<\/h2>\n<p>United on Wednesday confirmed it recently won control of six more gates at its home base, Chicago&#8217;s O&#8217;Hare International Airport (ORD).<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s notable amid something of a build-up by American Airlines, its top O&#8217;Hare competitor.<\/p>\n<p>American&#8217;s total number of seats departing ORD this summer were set to be 22% higher than last year, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.<\/p>\n<p>But United remains far bigger, with 29% seats than American scheduled for June, July and August.<\/p>\n<p><b>Related reading:<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/united-airlines-q1-earnings-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>United Airlines is slashing early-morning and late-night flights, citing softening demand and growing economic concerns. Yet, the airline says its core base of customers is planning another summer flying to far-flung destinations in premium seats. This week the Chicago-based carrier reported a $387 million profit during the first three months of 2025. That was far [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":162567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-162566","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-travel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}