In reporting its fourth-quarter results, United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) said it faced “headwinds” from the emergence of the omicron variant of COVID-19 that have hurt demand for travel and are expected to slow its overall recovery. However, the company said it expects stronger performance this spring and summer.
For the quarter, the Chicago-based airline reported revenue of $8.2 billion, driven in part by strong holiday traffic. While that figure is 25 percent lower than for the same period in 2019, it is the company’s highest quarterly result since before the industry began to reel under the effects of the pandemic. For the year, revenue decreased by 43 percent to $24.6 billion compared with $43.3 billion in 2019.
