United Airlines applauds Spain following its decision to reopen travel to vaccinated visitors beginning June 7, 2021. The announcement comes following the European Union Council’s formal recommendation that EU Member States can reopen to fully vaccinated tourists and United looks forward to welcoming back customers on over 30 daily flights to 16 destinations in Europe this summer, including service between New York/Newark and Barcelona and Madrid.

Starting June 1, United Airlines customers on most flights over two hours will be able to purchase beer, wine and White Claw® Hard Seltzer, making United the first major airline to offer the hard seltzer onboard its aircraft. On June 15, United will introduce a revamped menu of for-purchase snacks and brand-new premium cabin meal options on most flights over 1,500 miles and hub-to-hub flights over 800 miles or more than two hours. Customers will be able to purchase these offerings from the Buy-On-Board menu using United’s new mobile wallet technology.

New Adult Beverage Menu

United’s revamped adult beverage menu features a number of options sourced locally from United’s hubs, along with customer favorites from iconic brands. The new menu includes:

• White Claw® Mango
• Breckenridge Brewery Juice Drop Hazy IPA
• Kona Brewing Co. Big Wave Golden Ale
• Michelob ULTRA®
• Stella Artois®
• Red, white and sparkling wine options

New Snack Boxes

United’s new snack boxes offer three distinct experiences for travelers of all ages and tastes:

• Tapas Box: Hummus, bruschetta, breadstick crackers, flatbread crackers, sea salt almonds, olives, dark chocolate sea salt caramel
• Takeoff Box: Salami, apricots, gouda cheese spread, white cheddar cheese spread, multigrain crackers, cream crackers, smoked almonds, Toblerone®
• Recline Box: Pirate’s Booty® white cheddar puffs, honey mustard pretzels, gummi bears, OREO® cookies

New A la Carte Options

In addition to the popular Pringles® Classic potato chips, United is adding three new a la carte snacks to its menu to give customers a larger variety of options, including high-protein and gluten-free options. The revamped menu includes:

• Trü Frü Banana Bites: hyper-dried bananas covered in dark chocolate
• Food Should Taste Good™ Chips & Salsa Box: gluten-free, sweet potato “tortilla” chips with roasted pepper salsa
• GourmetNut Mega Omega Trail Mix: snack mix with walnuts, dried mango, almonds, cranberries, pumpkin seeds

How Contactless Payment Works:

To purchase select drinks and snack items onboard a flight, United’s contactless payment system allows customers to store their payment information in a digital wallet on the United app and on United.com prior to departure.

• Once in flight, customers can access a menu to view available items either on the United app and in Hemispheres.
• Rather than handing the flight attendant a credit card, the flight attendant will ask for the customer’s name and seat to confirm the card on file.
• Once confirmed, customers will receive their products and the card on file will be charged accordingly.

New Domestic Premium Cabin Menu Items

United is also introducing brand-new meal offerings to customers seated in domestic premium cabins on flights over 1,500 miles and hub-to-hub flights over 800 miles. The enhanced meal service includes a choice of entrees – including fresher options like egg scramble with plant-based chorizo and grilled chicken breast with orzo and lemon basil pesto – sides and dessert. United has also partnered with Eli’s Cheesecake to create a uniquely United chocolate pie flavor called “Pie in the Sky.” The meals will be served on one tray, with items individually wrapped, to limit person-to-person contact and further the safety of our employees and customers.

United Airlines (UAL) today announced first-quarter 2021 financial results. The company has its eyes on the future, making continued progress on its commitment to remove $2 billion in structural costs and investing in key customer programs that will position the airline to capitalize on the recovery of business travel and long-haul international demand.

Following its return to positive core cash flow¹ in the month of March, the company is focused on returning to positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margins, even if business and long-haul international demand remain as much as 70% below 2019 levels. United is already moving to capitalize on emerging pent-up demand for travel to countries where vaccinated travelers are welcome. In fact, the company announced new international flying to Greece, Iceland and Croatia earlier today, subject to government approval. These opportunistic steps help position United to return to positive net income even if business and long-haul international demand only returns to about 35% below 2019 levels.

“The United team has now spent a year facing down the most disruptive crisis our industry has ever faced and because of their skill and dedication to our customers, we’re poised to emerge from this pandemic with a future that is brighter than ever,” said United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby. “We’ve shifted our focus to the next milestone on the horizon and now see a clear path to profitability. We’re encouraged by the strong evidence of pent-up demand for air travel and our continued ability to nimbly match it, which is why we’re as confident as ever that we’ll hit our goal to exceed 2019 adjusted EBITDA margins in 2023, if not sooner.”

United’s efforts to improve the customer experience resulted in the company achieving its highest ever customer satisfaction in the first quarter. Looking ahead, the company is planning continued investment in customers, including continuing the United Polaris® retrofit program and starting retrofit on narrowbody aircraft, modernizing gates, upgrading and expanding United Club℠ locations in Newark and Denver, and rolling out tools that give customers the opportunity to pre-order onboard meals.

First-Quarter Financial Results

• Reported first-quarter 2021 net loss of $1.4 billion, adjusted net loss² of $2.4 billion.
• Reported first-quarter total operating revenue of $3.2 billion, down 66% versus first-quarter 2019.
• Reported first-quarter operating expenses down 49% versus first-quarter 2019, down 34% excluding special charges.
• Reported first-quarter 2021 ending available liquidity³ of $21 billion.
• Reported first-quarter capacity down 54% versus first-quarter 2019.
• Reported first-quarter average core cash burn of $9 million per day, an improvement of about $10 million per day versus the fourth-quarter 2020.

Second-Quarter 2021 Outlook

• Based on current trends, the company expects second quarter 2021 Total Revenue Per Available Seat Mile (TRASM) to be down approximately 20% versus the second quarter 2019.
• Expects second quarter 2021 capacity to be down around 45% versus the second quarter 2019.
• Expects second quarter operating expenses excluding special charges⁴ to be down approximately 32% versus the second quarter 2019, with second quarter 2021 fuel price per gallon estimated to be approximately $1.83.
• Expects second quarter 2021 adjusted EBITDA margin⁵ of around (20%).

Key Highlights

• Set a new diversity goal and plan for 50% of the 5,000 students the airline has committed to train by 2030 at the new United Aviate Academy to be women and people of color.
• Created the Eco-Skies Alliance℠, a first-of-its-kind program, offering United’s corporate customers the opportunity to help reduce their environmental impact by allowing them to pay the additional cost for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Additionally, United is giving customers the ability to contribute funds for additional SAF purchases by United or for use on initiatives United believes will help decarbonize aviation – the first of any U.S. airline to do so.
• Launched industry-exclusive “Travel-Ready Center” to ease the burden of COVID-19 travel restrictions. Customers can review COVID-19 entry requirements, find local testing options and upload any required testing and vaccination records for domestic and international travel, all in one place. United is the first airline to integrate all these features into its mobile app and website.
• Announced an agreement to work with air mobility company Archer as part of the company’s broader effort to invest in emerging technologies that decarbonize air travel rather than relying on traditional combustion engines.
• Returned to John F. Kennedy Airport after a five-year absence, and are now operating direct service to the airline’s West Coast hubs – Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport.
• Announced a new luxury bus collaboration for customers to travel to Breckenridge and Fort Collins, Colorado with convenient year-round ground transportation service connecting through its Denver hub. This is the first time Breckenridge has ever been served by an airline and will be Fort Collins’ first global network carrier service in 25 years.

Taking Care of Our Customers

• The only airline that lets customers upload travel documents to the United app and have them certified allowing customers to get their boarding pass before arriving at the airport.
• Announced plans to introduce United Premium Plus® service on seven Hawaii routes to Honolulu (Oahu), Kahului (Maui), and Kona (Hawaii) beginning in May 2021.
• Expanded COVID-19 testing and pre-clearance program to make Hawaii travel easier.
• Reducing stress of international travel by starting a test on Houston to Brazil flights, allowing customers to take an Abbott BinaxNOW test prior to their re-entry into the United States.
• In partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), launched a program to collect information from passengers, allowing them to be contacted in the event they are near a Covid-19 positive passenger while on a United aircraft.
• Expanded rollout of virtual, on-demand customer service, now available at all U.S. hub airports.
• Recognized by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) and SimpliFlying for providing a hospital-grade standard of cleanliness and safety during the travel journey. United is the first airline among the four largest U.S. carriers to receive the highest possible certification.

Reimagining the Route Network

• In the first quarter, announced 41 new domestic routes and two new international routes and launched six domestic routes and four international routes, with 13 more international routes planned to launch in 2021.
• The company resumed nonstop service on 12 domestic routes and five international routes compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
• Compared to December 2020, United had nonstop service in 12 more domestic and three more international routes in March 2021.
• Announced plans to fly roughly 52% of its full schedule in May 2021 compared to May 2019.
• Announced plans to expand the company’s global route network with new, nonstop service between Boston Logan International Airport and London Heathrow – the only U.S. carrier to offer nonstop service between the nation’s top seven business markets and London Heathrow.

Assisting the Communities We Serve

• More than 7 million miles donated to charities in need of travel through United’s Miles on a Mission program.
• Over 65,000 lbs. of food and beverages ($322,549 value) donated to Houston Food Bank for winter storm relief.
• Unique Black History Month campaign raised over $255,000 for The Thurgood Marshall College Fund, The Leadership Conference Education Fund, The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and United Negro College Fund.
• In the first quarter of 2021, through a combination of cargo-only flights and passenger flights, United has transported nearly 290 million pounds of freight, which includes nearly 60 million pounds of vital shipments, such as medical kits, PPE, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment, and more than 800,000 pounds of military mail and packages.

Additional Noteworthy Accomplishments

• For the tenth consecutive year received a perfect score of 100% on the Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a premier benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation.
• Teamed up with Chase and Visa in honor of Black History Month to encourage and reward United Credit Cardmembers to make donations to non-profits focused on providing access to educational opportunities for Black students and supporting human and civil rights policies.