United Boasts Strong Summer Earnings

United Airlines is next up for Q3 reporting, and the carrier posted higher-than-expected earnings for the summer despite revenue totals that missed Wall Street estimates.

UA’s net profit for the quarter was nearly $949 million, a 1.7% drop from Q3 a year ago. Its gross revenue was up nearly 3% to $15.23 billion while fuel costs nearly held steady. CEO Scott Kirby was bullish on United’s future saying he expects earnings from its MileagePlus loyalty program to double by the end of the decade and that it’s willing to perform regular blood sacrifices on basic economy passengers if that helps them achieve the goal.

Unit passenger revenue for the summer fell 3.3% for domestic travel and 7.1% for international while revenue to outer space remained flat. The airline prepaid the remaining $1.5 billion it had outstanding on MileagePlus bonds, getting it a hearty handshake from Dave Ramsey. United also says its ConnectionSaver saved 290,000 potential missed connections which is kinda like leading the league in offensive rebounds — good to have happen, but you’d be better off making the shots the first time.

It finished the quarter with $6.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents, much of which was spent on a premium subscription to ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World as it looked far and wide for its new international destinations for summer 2026.

Spirit Downsizing Continues

Spirit Airlines’s attempt to shrink its way out of bankruptcy continued this week as the carrier confirmed it would furlough an additional 365 pilots and downgrade as many as 170 captains to first officers early next year. But in better news, the number of pilots affected by the changes is expected to shrink somewhat through voluntary attrition in the interim as pilots desperately look for jobs at airlines that have a better chance of existing in a year.

In addition to the changes in the cockpit, the carrier will be making reductions below the wing as well. Spirit plans to close its maintenance base and warehouse operations in both Baltimore and Chicago, effective at the end of the year. Lastly — for now — it also will be making cuts from its corporate office, although it’s not yet specific how deep those cuts would be.

Spirit is in the midst of its second bankruptcy in less than a year and has dramatically cut its footprint across the country, reducing destinations, frequencies, and aircraft. The carrier is prioritizing survival over growth — and well, everything else right now — and the list of bases, routes, staff positions, and BuzzBallz on the chopping block continues to grow.

American to Debut Centennial Livery

American will be the second U.S. carrier to arbitrarily celebrate its 100th anniversary — following Delta in 2025 — and it plans to do so with a great looking special livery that will enter service next month… though one that would look even better if it was on bare metal, just sayin’.

The “Flagship” livery will be painted onto a Boeing 777-300ER — N735AT to be exact — and it will feature a bitchin’ look that combines one of AA’s original liveries with a modern touch. The carrier is naming the aircraft “Flagship DFW,” which of course merges the flagship concept while honoring the late U.S.-based author David Foster Wallace.

Other touches on the livery include the lightning bolt that first debuted on an AA DC-3 in the 1930s, and a roundel featuring AA’s eagle that was banished to the back of the airplane because it declined to buy-up to Main Cabin Extra at purchase and was assigned whatever seat happened to be left by the gate agent. If you’re trying to catch a ride on this particular airplane, you’ll be best to start in Miami or Los Angeles where it seems to begin most of its flights, but who knows, maybe this is the time AA finally puts a 777 on ORD-PIA.

Virgin Atlantic Announces New CEO

Virgin Atlantic announced this week that Delta its board selected Corneel Koster to succeed Shai Weiss at its CEO, effective January 1.

Weiss will step away with seven full years at the helm of Virgin Atlantic after first serving at CFO for the carrier and then COO before taking the top spot. Koster is in the midst of his second stint with the airline, returning in 2019. He’s served on the Board this time around along with being the Chief Customer Officer before a promotion to Chief Customer and Operating Office in 2020. Prior to this round with VS, he spent time working for Delta, Aeromexico, and KLM proving that there is a such thing as loyalty when it comes to alliances and employment.

In a statement, Koster assured passengers that VS’s high-level customer-oriented focus will continue which checks out because being named CEO and then promising to take away from the customer experience is the exact kind of thing they teach you not to do at CEO school. Richard Branson was not available for further comment on the transition, only willing to say that “this guy is fine with me, as long as he’s a virgin. I’ve got a brand to protect.”

Breeze Receives $48 Million Financing

Breeze announced the closing of a $47.5 million deal in secured debt financing through alternative investment manager AIP Capital. The financing was secured by a “diversified collateral package” which includes the carrier’s spare parts inventory, a spare engine, a flight simulator, a “How to Start a New Airline Quickly” pamphlet that was found in David Needleman’s executive bathroom, and a gently used A220 safety card.

The financing comes several weeks after the carrier announced its first international flights which will begin early next year. It expects to use the loan to help it blow into new markets and grow, saying that it preferred alternative ways to adding to its financial flexibility that didn’t include deporting people to El Salvador.

In what is likely unrelated news, Breeze is also considering an IPO.

• Air Botswana is selling three planes. As always, if you’re in the market, tell ’em Cranky sent you.
• Air Serbia will return to Toronto in May for the first time in 34 years. It last served the route in 1992, operating as Jat Airways, the flag carrier of Yugoslavia which barely scored higher on customer satisfaction surveys in the early ’90s than its rival carrier Shat Airways.
• Discover discovered it had capacity for more airplanes.
• EasyJet will open a base for three aircraft in Marrakech, its first in Africa.
• Eurowings will close its base in Dortmund next year.
• flydubai will offer free IFE and meals in economy.
• Frontier CEO Barry Biffle has had it with private jets.
• Gol is delisting from the Brazilian stock exchange. But its parent company is eyeing a listing in the U.S.
• Iberia added both Bucharest and Tivat to its summer schedule.
• ITA deferred the retirement of its A330-200 fleet to next year.
• JetBlue is enhancing elite offerings for Mosaic member of its TrueBlue loyalty program. The cliffs notes: Family status will be easier, getting a free drink will be harder.
• Lufthansa is considering outsourcing some of its ground staff.
• Madagascar Airlines CEO Thierry de Bailleul is resigning. It’s been a busy week on the island.
• Philippine Airlines would like the country’s airport infrastructure to improve
• Ryanair will reduce its schedules to both Germany and the Baltics this winter.
• Southwest introduced its first B737-8 MAX with new seats, extra legroom sections, larger bins, USB power, and blue cabin lighting. It entered service Thursday flying first from Dallas/Love to Houston/Hobby.
• Turkish is considering teaming up with Air Algerie.
• United debuted Starlink Wi-Fi on a mainline aircraft for the first time this week. Only 99 to go to catch WestJet.
• WestJet reupped with the Toronto Blue Jays to be the official airline of the team for seven more years.
• Wizz Air is going to open an aircraft base early next year in Podgorica which does appear to be a real place.

When you clean out your vacuum cleaner, you yourself become a vacuum cleaner.