United Airlines has cited a higher than expected drop in business travel during the Easter period as a reason for decreases in revenue.
According to Q1 financial results, United reported a 38 per cent drop in profits with net income of $313 million down from $508 million for the same period in 2015.
The company said a key figure - revenue for each seat flown one mile - fell 7.4 per cent in the first quarter. It expects the figure to drop a similar amount - between 6.5 and 8.5 per cent - in the second quarter compared with a year earlier.
Besides the drop in last-minute business travel, United blamed the revenue challenges on the strong US dollar and lower oil prices, which forced airlines to cut fuel surcharges on international tickets.
United president and CEO Oscar Munoz said: “I am extremely proud of United's nearly 86,000 aviation professionals for their contributions to these strong results – including the improvements in our reliability, customer satisfaction and financial performance.
"As we accelerate United's path forward, we will continue to focus on running a great airline today while innovating for tomorrow."
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