Revenue from premium sales was up 6% year over year for United Airlines, and total premium-class revenue per available seat mile outperformed the main cabin by five points, according to Andrew Nocella, chief commercial officer, speaking on a third quarter earnings call. He also said that MileagePlus total loyalty revenue increased more than 9% year over year, adding that the airline is seeing increased retention of cardholders along with higher spend.
Scott Kirby, CEO, said that for the last few years, “we’ve talked about an industry that is transforming, and United Airlines is competitively positioned to win.” That has meant, he said, “winning brand-loyal customers.”
Kirby noted that despite economic volatility during the first three quarters of the year, the airline projects earnings growth for the full year, which is “proof that the brand-loyal United Next strategy is resilient in tough times.” United Next is a multiyear transformation plan.
Nocella said that United had the company’s all-time highest business revenue ticketing during the week ending Oct. 5, and of the top five best weeks in the carrier’s history, three of the remaining four occurred in September 2025.
While premium leisure yield is now frequently more lucrative than premium business travel on domestic flights, said Nocella, on the international front corporate business does retain a much higher yield than premium leisure business at this point. But Nocella added, “premium leisure continues to accelerate.”
The carrier, said Nocella, seeks to maintain all its corporate business and gain corporate share, while at the same time, as it reconfigures aircraft, taking on more premium leisure business. He said United’s business model now has a more balanced demand level across more of the year as its increasingly optimal mix between leisure demand, premium leisure demand and business demand “is yet another emerging advantage we have over commodity-based airlines.”
Third-quarter passenger revenue was $13.8 billion, an increase of 1.9% year over year. Total revenue was more than $15.2 billion, representing a 2.6% increase for the same period. Net income was $949 million, down from the $965 million reported in the second quarter of 2024. Capacity increased 7.2% year over year during the quarter.
