United CEO urges flyers to buy tickets now
United Airline's CEO, Scott Kirby, is urging customers to snap up some of the cheapest flights he's seen from an iconic destination. After tarmac construction delays, several well-documented traffic control outages , and a wave of cancellations, travelers have been avoiding Newark International Airport.
That chaos has unexpectedly created what Kirby is calling an affordable window to fly into the airport. 'Because we lost a lot of bookings, there's a lot more seats available,' Kirby said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal . 'It's going to be the cheapest it's probably ever going to be in history.'
Newark Airport, one of United's major US hubs, has quickly responded to safety concerns. Airlines have cut back on their Newark-bound offerings and the US Department of Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, said officials are updating equipment to minimize risk . Completion of a new communications line is expected by July.
In the meantime, Kirby and Duffy have both said it is safe to fly into Newark. 'Newark is safe,' Kirby said, while calling the customer hesitance a 'perception issue.' United has cut back on 35 daily scheduled flights into its hub to help quell the traffic.
Last week, a Cessna descended into a San Diego neighborhood, killing six . Safety issues and continued drops in consumer economic sentiment have become a toxic mix for major airlines. Some of the biggest companies — including United, American, Delta, and Southwest — all expected booming sales in 2025.
Still, the company believes it will turn a profit this year. It confirmed its strong business with a quirky twist on a traditional financial outlook. The airliner reported two potential forecasts for the rest of 2025. One potential earnings forecast shows the company's finances if the US avoids a recession, while the other one shows the profit if the economy continues to contract.
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