United Airlines has reported second-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations and prompted the airline to raise its full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance to $9.00–$11.00, even as soaring fuel costs remained the defining challenge of the period.
Total operating revenue reached $17.7 billion in Q2, up 16% year-on-year, with total revenue per available seat mile up 12%. Pre-tax earnings came in at $1.0 billion with a 5.8% margin. Fuel expense surged 84% year-on-year to $2.3 billion in the quarter, and United expects fuel costs to run nearly $6 billion higher for the full year compared to its January projections. The airline says it recovered roughly half of the fuel cost increase in Q2, and expects to recover 80–90% in Q3 and 100% in Q4.
Premium revenue grew 16%, Basic Economy revenue rose 11%, loyalty revenue was up 11%, and cargo revenue jumped 23%. Contracted business revenue grew 27%, reflecting robust close-in corporate demand. Economy cabin unit revenue turned positive for a second consecutive quarter, up 12%.
Operationally, Q2 was strong. United flew the 10 highest-volume days in company history in June, including a record 640,717 customers on June 18. The second-quarter on-time departure rate was the best since 2021, and Newark posted its best-ever Q2 on-time results. The seat cancellation rate was the lowest in company history outside the pandemic years.
On the product side, Starlink Wi-Fi is now installed on 450 aircraft, with nearly 1,000 expected by year-end. Customer satisfaction scores on Starlink flights are more than double those on non-Starlink services. United also took delivery of its first A321XLR during the quarter and launched Starlink on its first widebody transatlantic flight.
New network additions include transatlantic routes to Bari, Split, Santiago de Compostela, and Glasgow from Newark, and five new destinations planned for later in 2026.
“United is built to thrive in every environment,” said CEO Scott Kirby. “Our brand-loyal customers value their travel on United whether they are in Polaris or in Economy.”
