By Dhirendra Tripathi

Investing.com – United Airlines stock (NASDAQ:UAL) traded 1.1% down in premarket Thursday after the carrier was forced to admit it won't return to pre-pandemic levels of traffic this year.

The airline had earlier estimated its capacity would grow 5% from pre-pandemic levels in 2022. The somber guidance comes as Omicron-variant Covid-19 delays the recovery in travel through a variety of channels. The company has had to cancel flights this year due to illness-related absenteeism and to international travel bans, hastily introduced by a number of governments to stop the spread of disease.

United estimates its costs in the current quarter to be 14%-15% running higher than in the same period in 2019, due largely to staff shortages and other supply chain problems. The price of jet fuel is also increasingly becoming a concern, with oil prices back at their highest in seven years.

United's total operating revenue for the December quarter rose 140% year-on-year to $8.2 billion, but that was still only at three-quarters of the same period in 2019. On an adjusted basis, the carrier reported a loss of $1.6 per share for the three months through December, its eighth straight quarter of losses. However, it was narrower than expected and a marked improvement from $7 a year ago.

“While Omicron is impacting near-term demand, we remain optimistic about the spring and excited about the summer and beyond,” United Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby (NYSE:KEX) said in a statement.

United said its Boeing (NYSE:BA) 777-200 planes equipped with Pratt&Whitney engines would begin to return to service in the current quarter. It was forced to ground all of its 52 wide-body jets last year after one of its flights to Honolulu suffered an engine failure and made an emergency landing in Denver.

Related Articles

United Airlines Weaker as Omicron Forces Cut in 2022 Capacity Outlook

Tesla Berlin factory to elect works council on Feb 28

American Airlines loss narrows on strong holiday travel demand