United Airlines Holdings Inc.

10/21/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/21/2026 14:21

Quarterly Report for Quarter Ending September 30, 2026 (Form 10-Q)

MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
This Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations is provided as a supplement to and should be read in conjunction with the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (the "2025 Form 10-K") to enhance the understanding of our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "UAL" or the "Company") is a holding company incorporated in Delaware and its wholly-owned subsidiary is United Airlines, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "United"). As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, and United comprises substantially all of UAL's operating revenues, operating expenses, assets, liabilities and operating cash flows, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. We sometimes use the words "we," "our," "us," and the "Company" in this report for disclosures that relate to all of UAL and United.
Key Trends Impacting Our Business
Our industry is dynamic, highly competitive and subject to a number of industry-specific factors and global macroeconomic conditions that may cause our actual results of operations to differ from our historical results of operations or current expectations. The economic, market and legal factors and trends that we currently believe are or will be most impactful to our results of operations and financial condition include the following:
•Geopolitical Conflicts Elevating Fuel Prices. The ongoing geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East and in other regions have caused disruption of flying and/or have contributed to materially higher global fuel prices. In response to the conflicts in the Middle East that arose earlier this year, we have taken immediate and decisive actions to mitigate the impact of the operational disruptions and rising fuel costs, including reducing capacity and adjusting fares and fees. While our long-term outlook is positive due to our expectation that customer demand will remain strong, we may continue to be impacted by future volatility in the fuel market, especially if the geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East or other regions escalate further or expand.
•Regulatory or Court Decisions Restricting Our Capacity Targets. We remain vulnerable to regulatory actions (including by the Federal Aviation Administration) or court decisions that would require us to adjust our planned capacity at our hub locations.
•Governmental Funding Constraints. We have been working with our U.S. federal government partners to reduce passenger travel disruptions due to potential budgetary decisions limiting or delaying government spending or reducing staffing of government agencies with which we interact routinely, including as a result of a federal government shutdown.
We will monitor the potential favorable or unfavorable impacts of these and other factors on our business, operations, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and financial flexibility, which are dependent on future developments, including as a result of the factors discussed in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, of our 2025 Form 10-K.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion provides an analysis of our results of operations and reasons for material changes therein for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026, as compared to the corresponding periods in 2025.
Third Quarter 2026 Compared to Third Quarter 2025
Significant components of the Company's operating results for the three months ended September 30 are as follows (in millions, except percentage changes):
2026 2025 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Operating revenue $ 17,875 $ 15,225 $ 2,651 17.4
Operating expense 16,429 13,830 2,600 18.8
Operating income 1,446 1,395 51 3.6
Nonoperating expense, net (135) (141) (6) (4.1)
Income before income taxes 1,311 1,255 57 4.5
Income tax expense 282 306 (24) (7.8)
Net income $ 1,029 $ 949 $ 80 8.5
Certain consolidated statistical information for the Company's operations for the three months ended September 30 is as follows:
2026 2025 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Passengers (thousands) (a) 49,527 48,382 1,145 2.4
Revenue passenger miles ("RPMs" or "traffic") (millions) (b) 74,278 73,769 509 0.7
Available seat miles ("ASMs" or "capacity") (millions) (c) 88,538 87,417 1,122 1.3
Passenger load factor (d) 83.9 % 84.4 % (0.5) pts. N/A
Passenger revenue per available seat mile ("PRASM") (cents) 18.34 15.80 2.54 16.1
Total revenue per ASM ("TRASM") (cents) 20.19 17.42 2.77 15.9
Average yield per revenue passenger mile ("Yield") (cents) (e) 21.86 18.73 3.14 16.8
Cargo revenue ton miles ("CTM") (millions) (f) 936 890 46 5.2
Cost per ASM ("CASM") (cents) 18.56 15.82 2.74 17.3
Average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes $ 3.90 $ 2.43 $ 1.47 60.3
Fuel gallons consumed (millions) 1,243 1,233 10 0.8
Employee headcount, as of September 30
117,900 111,900 6,000 5.4
(a) The number of revenue passengers measured by each flight segment flown.
(b) The number of scheduled miles flown by revenue passengers.
(c) The number of seats available for passengers multiplied by the number of scheduled miles those seats are flown.
(d) Revenue passenger miles divided by available seat miles.
(e) The average passenger revenue received for each revenue passenger mile flown.
(f) The number of cargo revenue tons transported multiplied by the number of miles flown.
Operating Revenue. The table below shows year-over-year comparisons by type of operating revenue for the three months ended September 30 (in millions, except for percentage changes):
2026 2025 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Passenger revenue $ 16,241 $ 13,815 $ 2,425 17.6
Cargo revenue 529 431 99 22.9
Other operating revenue 1,106 979 127 12.9
Total operating revenue $ 17,875 $ 15,225 $ 2,651 17.4
The table below presents selected passenger revenue and operating data, broken out by geographic region, expressed as year-over-year changes for the three months ended September 30:
Increase (Decrease) from 2025:
Domestic Atlantic Pacific Latin Total
Passenger revenue (in millions) $ 1,609 $ 332 $ 224 $ 261 $ 2,425
Passenger revenue 19.9 % 10.1 % 16.5 % 24.2 % 17.6 %
Average fare per passenger 15.6 % 16.3 % 10.3 % 28.7 % 14.8 %
Yield 15.7 % 17.8 % 10.8 % 27.4 % 16.8 %
PRASM 14.5 % 16.9 % 10.9 % 30.5 % 16.1 %
Passengers 3.7 % (5.3) % 5.6 % (3.5) % 2.4 %
RPMs 3.6 % (6.5) % 5.1 % (2.6) % 0.7 %
ASMs 4.7 % (5.8) % 5.0 % (4.9) % 1.3 %
Passenger load factor (points) (0.9) (0.7) 0.1 2.1 (0.5)
Passenger revenue increased $2.4 billion, or 17.6%, in the third quarter of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to a 16.8% increase in yield and a 2.4% increase in the number of passengers flown.
Cargo revenue increased $99 million, or 22.9%, in the third quarter of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to an increase in freight yields as well as a slight increase in tonnage.
Other operating revenue increased $127 million, or 12.9%, in the third quarter of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to an increase in mileage revenue from non-airline partners, including credit card spending with our co-branded credit card partner, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., and an increase in visitor volumes at United Club lounges.
Operating Expenses. The table below includes data related to the Company's operating expenses for the three months ended September 30 (in millions, except for percentage changes):
2026 2025 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Salaries and related costs $ 4,961 $ 4,555 $ 406 8.9
Aircraft fuel 4,843 2,997 1,846 61.6
Landing fees and other rent 1,046 1,002 44 4.4
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs 806 779 27 3.5
Depreciation and amortization 777 730 47 6.4
Regional capacity purchase 725 686 39 5.7
Distribution expenses 632 555 77 13.9
Aircraft rent 116 54 62 NM
Special charges (credits) (215) (73) 142 NM
Other operating expenses 2,739 2,546 194 7.6
Total operating expense $ 16,429 $ 13,830 $ 2,600 18.8
NM - Greater than 100% change or otherwise not meaningful.
Salaries and related costs increased $406 million, or 8.9%, in the third quarter of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to increased pay as a result of the increase in flying activity, a 5.4% increase in headcount and pay rate increases for various eligible employee groups, including employees represented by the Association of Flight Attendants ("AFA") pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement that was ratified in May 2026.
Aircraft fuel expense increased $1.8 billion, or 61.6%, in the third quarter of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to a higher average price per gallon of fuel.
Distribution expense increased $77 million, or 13.9%, in the third quarter of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to higher credit card fees and agency commissions driven by the overall increase in passenger revenue.
Aircraft rent increased $62 million, in the third quarter of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to the addition of new leased aircraft to the Company's fleet.
For details on the Company's Special charges (credits), see Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this report.
Other operating expenses increased $194 million, or 7.6%, in the third quarter of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to an increase in flight activity and number of passengers, including increased costs for catering, ground handling and passenger services, crew-related expenses, as well as expenditures related to information technology projects and services.
Nonoperating Income (Expense). The table below shows year-over-year comparisons of the Company's nonoperating income (expense) for the three months ended September 30 (in millions, except for percentage changes):
2026 2025 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Interest expense $ (359) $ (331) $ 28 8.3
Interest income 157 142 14 10.1
Interest capitalized 56 53 3 5.1
Unrealized losses on investments, net (13) (13) - NM
Miscellaneous, net 24 9 16 NM
Total nonoperating expense, net $ (135) $ (141) $ (6) (4.1)
Interest expense increased $28 million, or 8.3%, in the third quarter of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to new debt issuances in the current year.
Income Taxes. See Note 5 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this report for information related to income taxes.
First Nine Months 2026 Compared to First Nine Months 2025
Significant components of the Company's operating results for the nine months ended September 30 are as follows (in millions, except percentage changes):
2026 2025 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Operating revenue $ 50,156 $ 43,673 $ 6,483 14.8
Operating expense 46,617 40,345 6,271 15.5
Operating income 3,539 3,328 212 6.4
Nonoperating expense, net (331) (346) (15) (4.4)
Income before income taxes 3,208 2,981 227 7.6
Income tax expense 675 672 3 0.5
Net income $ 2,533 $ 2,309 $ 223 9.7
Certain consolidated statistical information for the Company's operations for the nine months ended September 30 is as follows:
2026 2025 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Passengers (thousands) 140,705 135,374 5,332 3.9
RPMs (millions) 210,428 203,374 7,054 3.5
ASMs (millions) 253,516 246,919 6,597 2.7
Passenger load factor 83.0 % 82.4 % 0.6 pts. N/A
PRASM (cents) 17.95 16.00 1.95 12.2
TRASM (cents) 19.78 17.69 2.10 11.9
Yield (cents) 21.63 19.43 2.20 11.3
CTM (millions) 2,746 2,663 83 3.1
CASM (cents) 18.39 16.34 2.05 12.5
Average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes $ 3.65 $ 2.43 $ 1.23 50.4
Fuel gallons consumed (millions) 3,555 3,488 67 1.9
Employee headcount, as of September 30
117,900 111,900 6,000 5.4
Operating Revenue. The table below shows year-over-year comparisons by type of operating revenue for the nine months ended September 30 (in millions, except for percentage changes):
2026 2025 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Passenger revenue $ 45,507 $ 39,512 $ 5,996 15.2
Cargo revenue 1,478 1,290 189 14.7
Other operating revenue 3,170 2,872 298 10.4
Total operating revenue $ 50,156 $ 43,673 $ 6,483 14.8
The table below presents selected passenger revenue and operating data, broken out by geographic region, expressed as year-over-year changes for the nine months ended September 30:
Increase (Decrease) from 2025:
Domestic Atlantic Pacific Latin Total
Passenger revenue (in millions) $ 3,944 $ 911 $ 724 $ 417 $ 5,996
Passenger revenue 17.0 % 11.1 % 16.5 % 11.1 % 15.2 %
Average fare per passenger 11.8 % 11.2 % 5.9 % 12.9 % 10.8 %
Yield 11.8 % 12.0 % 7.6 % 11.4 % 11.3 %
PRASM 11.7 % 13.5 % 11.0 % 12.6 % 12.2 %
Passengers 4.7 % - % 10.1 % (1.6) % 3.9 %
RPMs 4.7 % (0.8) % 8.3 % (0.3) % 3.5 %
ASMs 4.7 % (2.1) % 5.0 % (1.3) % 2.7 %
Passenger load factor (points) - 1.1 2.5 0.9 0.6
Passenger revenue increased $6.0 billion, or 15.2%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to an 11.3% increase in yield and a 3.9% increase in the number of passengers flown.
Cargo revenue increased $189 million, or 14.7%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to an increase in freight yields as well as a slight increase in tonnage.
Other operating revenue increased $298 million, or 10.4%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to an increase in mileage revenue from non-airline partners, including credit card spending with our co-branded credit card partner, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., and an increase in visitor volumes at United Club lounges.
Operating Expenses. The table below presents data related to the Company's operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30 (in millions, except for percentage changes):
2026 2025 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Salaries and related costs $ 14,209 $ 13,123 $ 1,086 8.3
Aircraft fuel 12,993 8,473 4,520 53.3
Landing fees and other rent 3,050 2,836 214 7.6
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs 2,565 2,374 191 8.0
Depreciation and amortization 2,295 2,191 104 4.8
Regional capacity purchase 2,160 2,012 148 7.3
Distribution expenses 1,799 1,538 260 16.9
Aircraft rent 311 172 139 80.4
Special charges (credits) (749) 266 (1,016) NM
Other operating expenses 7,984 7,359 625 8.5
Total operating expense $ 46,617 $ 40,345 $ 6,271 15.5
Salaries and related costs increased $1.1 billion, or 8.3%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to increased pay as a result of the increase in flying activity, a 5.4% increase in headcount and pay rate increases for various eligible employee groups, including employees represented by the AFA pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement that was ratified in May 2026.
Aircraft fuel expense increased $4.5 billion, or 53.3%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to a higher average price per gallon of fuel as well as increased consumption from increased flight activity.
Landing fees and other rent increased $214 million, or 7.6%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to rate increases at various airports and higher landed weight volume due to increased flight activity.
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs increased $191 million, or 8.0%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to higher volumes of engine overhauls and component part repairs as well as contractual rate increases.
Depreciation and amortization increased $104 million, or 4.8%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to the induction of new aircraft as well as certain aircraft improvements.
Regional capacity purchase increased $148 million, or 7.3%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to a 2% increase in regional flying activity and annual rate increases under United's capacity purchase agreements.
Distribution expenses increased $260 million, or 16.9%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to higher credit card fees and agency commissions driven by the overall increase in passenger revenue as well as the refinement of assumptions used in determining our credit card fees expense in the year-ago period.
Aircraft rent increased $139 million, or 80.4%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to the addition of new leased aircraft to the Company's fleet.
For details on the Company's Special charges (credits), see Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this report.
Other operating expenses increased $625 million, or 8.5%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to an increase in flight activity and number of passengers, including increased costs for catering, ground handling and passenger services, crew-related expenses, as well as expenditures related to information technology projects and services.
Nonoperating Income (Expense). The following table illustrates the year-over-year dollar and percentage changes in the Company's nonoperating income (expense) for the nine months ended September 30 (in millions, except for percentage
changes):
2026 2025 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Interest expense $ (1,029) $ (1,048) $ (20) (1.9)
Interest income 440 473 (33) (6.9)
Interest capitalized 169 152 18 11.7
Unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net 13 (8) 22 NM
Miscellaneous, net 74 86 (11) (12.9)
Total nonoperating expense, net $ (331) $ (346) $ (15) (4.4)
Interest income decreased $33 million, or 6.9%, in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to lower interest rates.
Income Taxes. See Note 5 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this report for information related to income taxes.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Current Liquidity
As of September 30, 2026, the Company had $14.7 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, as compared to $12.2 billion at December 31, 2025. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, together with cash generated from operations, will be sufficient to satisfy our anticipated liquidity needs for the next 12 months, and we expect to meet our long-term liquidity needs with our anticipated access to the capital markets and projected cash from operations.
The Company had $3.0 billion undrawn and available under its revolving credit facility as of September 30, 2026. No borrowings were outstanding under the revolving credit facility as of September 30, 2026. On October 16, 2026, the Company amended and restated its revolving credit facility to increase total commitments from $3.0 billion to $5.0 billion and to extend the maturity of the commitments to October 16, 2031. The amendment also reduced the applicable interest rate margins on borrowings under the facility. No borrowings were outstanding under the revolving credit facility as of the date of this report. See Note 8 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this report and Part II, Item 5 (Other Information) for additional information regarding the Company's revolving credit facility.
We have a significant amount of fixed obligations, including debt, leases of aircraft, airport and other facilities, and pension funding obligations. As of September 30, 2026, the Company had $34.3 billion of debt, finance lease, operating lease and other financial liabilities, including $2.8 billion that will become due in the next 12 months. In addition, we have substantial noncancelable commitments for capital expenditures, including the acquisition of certain new aircraft and related spare engines. Our debt agreements contain customary terms and conditions as well as various affirmative, negative and financial covenants that, among other things, limit the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries, under certain circumstances, to incur additional indebtedness and pay dividends or repurchase stock. As of September 30, 2026, the Company was in compliance with its covenants under these debt agreements. As of September 30, 2026, a substantial portion of the Company's assets, principally aircraft and certain related assets, certain route authorities and airport slots and gates, was pledged under various loan and other agreements. See Note 8 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information on aircraft financing and other debt instruments.
On February 3, 2026, the Company entered into Amendment No. 4 to Term Loan Credit and Guaranty Agreement that lowered the margin on its interest rate from 2.00% to 1.75%, in the case of Term SOFR (as such term is defined in the Term Loan Credit and Guaranty Agreement, dated as of April 21, 2021, as amended) loans, and from 1.00% to 0.75%, in the case of loans at other market rates.
The Company has backstop financing commitments available from certain of its aircraft manufacturers for a limited number of its future aircraft deliveries, subject to certain customary conditions.
As of September 30, 2026, United had firm commitments to purchase aircraft from The Boeing Company ("Boeing") and Airbus S.A.S. ("Airbus") as presented in the table below:
Contractual Aircraft Deliveries Expected Aircraft Deliveries (b)
Aircraft Type Number of Firm
Commitments (a)
Last Three Months of 2026
2027 After 2027
Last Three Months of 2026
2027 After 2027
787 142 35 14 93 4 26 112
737 MAX 9 42 42 - - 16 26 -
737 MAX 10 167 3 44 120 - 19 148
A321neo 108 5 3 100 3 5 100
A321XLR 48 4 15 29 2 15 31
A350 45 - - 45 - - -
(a) United also has options and purchase rights for additional aircraft.
(b) Expected aircraft deliveries reflect adjustments communicated by Boeing and Airbus or estimated by United. However, aircraft deliveries are subject to a number of variables, as further described in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors of the 2025 Form 10-K, and we cannot guarantee delivery of any particular aircraft at any specific time notwithstanding firm purchase commitments.
The aircraft listed in the table above are scheduled for delivery through 2034. The amount and timing of the Company's future capital commitments could change to the extent that: (i) the Company and the aircraft manufacturers, with whom the Company has existing orders for new aircraft, agree to modify (or further modify) the contracts governing those orders; (ii) rights are exercised pursuant to the relevant agreements to cancel deliveries or modify the timing of deliveries; or (iii) the aircraft manufacturers are unable to deliver in accordance with the terms of those orders.
Sources and Uses of Cash
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the nine months ended September 30 (in millions):
Total cash provided by (used in): 2026 2025 Increase (Decrease)
Operating activities $ 6,874 $ 7,145 $ (271)
Investing activities (7,192) (4,785) 2,407
Financing activities 1,031 (4,436) 5,467
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 713 $ (2,075) $ 2,788
Operating Activities. Cash flows provided by operating activities decreased $271 million in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to a net change in various working capital items, primarily the one-time payment related to the flight attendant contract ratification, partially offset by an increase in advance ticket sales.
Investing Activities. Cash flows used in investing activities increased $2.4 billion in the first nine months of 2026 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to an increase in the purchase of short-term and other investments as well as an increase in capital expenditures attributable to the purchase of aircraft and related spare parts.
Financing Activities. Significant financing events in the nine months ended September 30, 2026 were as follows:
Debt Issuances. During the nine months ended September 30, 2026, the Company received and recorded:
•$1.0 billion from the issuance of 5.375% Senior Notes due 2031;
•$1.0 billion from the issuance of 4.875% Senior Notes due 2029; and
•$4.6 billion from various aircraft financings.
Debt, Finance Lease and Other Financial Liability Principal Payments. During the nine months ended September 30, 2026, the Company made payments for debt, finance leases, and other financial liabilities of $5.5 billion, including the redemption of $2.0 billion aggregate principal amount of the 4.375% Senior Secured Notes due 2026 and the partial prepayment of $0.6 billion aggregate principal amount of a $1.5 billion note issued to the U.S. Treasury under the Payroll Support Program due 2030.
See Note 8 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information on debt issuances and debt prepayments.
Share repurchase. As part of our capital deployment program, the Company's Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program in October 2024. In the nine months ended September 30, 2026, the Company repurchased, through open market purchases, 0.3 million shares of UAL common stock for a total of $27 million as part of its share repurchase program. The Company did not make any repurchases during the three months ended September 30, 2026.
Credit Ratings. As of the filing date of this report, UAL and United had the following corporate credit ratings:
S&P Moody's Fitch
UAL BB+ Ba1 BB+
United BB+ * BB+
*The credit agency does not issue corporate credit ratings for subsidiary entities.
The Company was upgraded by S&P in August 2025 and assigned a positive outlook in January 2026, upgraded by Moody's in November 2025 and assigned a stable outlook, and upgraded by Fitch in December 2025 and assigned a positive outlook in July 2026. A rating reflects only the view of a rating agency and is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. Ratings can be revised upward or downward at any time by a rating agency if such rating agency decides that circumstances warrant such a change. Downgrades from these rating levels, among other things, could restrict the availability, or increase the cost, of future financing for the Company as well as affect the fair market value of existing debt.
Commitments, Contingencies and Liquidity Matters. As described in the 2025 Form 10-K, the Company's liquidity may be adversely impacted by a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, pension funding obligations, reserve requirements associated with credit card processing agreements, guarantees, commitments and contingencies.
See the 2025 Form 10-K and Notes 6, 7, 8 and 9 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES
See "Critical Accounting Policies" in Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the 2025 Form 10-K.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This report contains certain "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including in Part I, Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and elsewhere, relating to, among other things, goals, plans and projections regarding the Company's financial position, results of operations, capital allocation and investments, market position, airline capacity, fleet plan strategy, fares, booking trends, product development, corporate citizenship-related strategy initiatives and business strategy. Such forward-looking statements are based on historical performance and current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the Company's future financial results, goals, plans, commitments, strategies and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, known or unknown, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond the Company's control and could cause the Company's future financial results, goals, plans, commitments, strategies and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. Words such as "should," "could," "would," "will," "may," "expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "indicates," "remains," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook," "goals," "targets," "pledge," "confident," "optimistic," "dedicated," "positioned," "on track"
and other words and terms of similar meaning and expression are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such terms. All statements, other than those that relate solely to historical facts, are forward-looking statements.
Additionally, forward-looking statements include conditional statements and statements that identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of known trends or uncertainties, or that indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this report are based upon information available to us on the date of this report. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law or regulation.
Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the following: execution risks associated with our strategic operating plan; changes in our fleet and network strategy or other factors outside our control resulting in less economic aircraft orders, costs related to modification or termination of aircraft orders or entry into aircraft orders on less favorable terms, as well as any inability to accept or integrate new aircraft into our fleet as planned, including as a result of any mandatory groundings of aircraft; any failure to effectively manage, and receive anticipated benefits and returns from, acquisitions, divestitures, investments, joint ventures and other portfolio actions, or related exposures to unknown liabilities or other issues or underperformance as compared to our expectations; adverse publicity, increased regulatory scrutiny, harm to our brand, reduced travel demand, potential tort liability and operational restrictions as a result of an accident, catastrophe or incident involving us, our regional carriers, our codeshare partners or another airline; the highly competitive nature of the global airline industry and susceptibility of the industry to price discounting and changes in capacity, including as a result of alliances, joint business arrangements or other consolidations; unfavorable developments affecting our MileagePlus loyalty program; our reliance on a limited number of suppliers to source a majority of our aircraft, engines and certain parts, and the impact of any failure to obtain timely deliveries, additional equipment or support from any of these suppliers; unfavorable economic and political conditions in the United States and globally; reliance on third-party service providers and the impact of any significant failure of these parties to perform as expected, or interruptions in our relationships with these providers or their provision of services; extended interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports where we operate and space, facility and infrastructure constraints at our hubs or other airports (including as a result of government shutdowns); geopolitical conflict, terrorist attacks or security events (including the suspension of our overflying in Russian airspace as a result of the Russia-Ukraine military conflict and interruptions of our flying as a result of military conflicts across the globe, as well as any escalation of the broader economic consequences of any conflicts beyond their current scope or a delay in any planned resumption of service to an area impacted by conflict); any damage to our reputation or brand image; disruptions to our regional network and United Express flights provided by third-party regional carriers; our reliance on technology and automated systems to operate our business and the impact of any significant failure or disruption of, or failure to effectively integrate and implement, these technologies or systems; increasing privacy, data security and cybersecurity obligations or a significant data breach; increased use of social media platforms by us, our employees and others; the impacts of union disputes, employee strikes or slowdowns, and other labor-related disruptions as well as increased employee and retiree health, pension, labor or regulatory compliance costs on our operations or financial performance; any failure to recruit, hire, develop or retain skilled personnel, including our senior management team or other key employees; the monetary and operational costs of compliance with extensive government regulation of the airline industry; current or future litigation and regulatory actions, or failure to comply with the terms of any settlement, order or agreement relating to these actions; costs, liabilities and risks associated with environmental regulation and climate change; high and/or volatile fuel prices or significant disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel, including as a result of the geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East and in other regions; the impacts of our significant amount of financial leverage from fixed obligations and the impacts of insufficient liquidity on our financial condition and business; failure to comply with financial and other covenants governing our debt; limitations on our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes; our failure to realize the full value of our intangible assets or our long-lived assets, causing us to record impairments; fluctuations in the price of our common stock; the impacts of seasonality and other factors associated with the airline industry; increases in insurance costs or inadequate insurance coverage; risks relating to our repurchase program for UAL common stock and warrants; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, of our 2025 Form 10-K, and under "Key Trends Impacting Our Business" in Part I, Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, of this report, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports we file with the SEC.
The foregoing list sets forth many, but not all, of the factors that could impact our ability to achieve results described in any forward-looking statements. Investors should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors and should not consider this list to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. It is routine for our internal projections and expectations to change as the year or each quarter in the year progresses, and therefore it should be clearly understood that the internal projections, beliefs and assumptions upon which we base our expectations may change. For instance, we regularly
monitor future demand and booking trends and adjust capacity, as needed. As such, our actual flown capacity may differ materially from currently published flight schedules or current estimations.
United Airlines Holdings Inc. published this content on October 21, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via EDGAR on October 21, 2026 at 20:25 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]