5:25 p.m. ET, April 30, 2020
United posts its first loss in six years
From CNN Business' Chris Isidore
United Airlines said it expects to burn through $40 million to $45 million a day, on average, during the course of the current quarter, even though it has already grounded about 90% of its flights for the quarter.
But the airline said it has the resources to weather the current coronavirus crisis, despite saying that it has taken demand for air travel to "
essentially zero." As of Wednesday, the company said it has $9.6 billion.
The guidance comes as United reported its first loss since the first quarter of 2014. Overall it reported a loss excluding special items of $639 million, worse than a loss of about $500 million on that basis forecast by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. The net loss for the quarter came to $1.7 billion.
Shares of
United were lower in after-hours trading following the report.
The company had already warned of a total pre-tax loss of $2.1 billion. Its executives will speak with investors on Friday morning.
The other three major US airlines -
American,
Delta and
Southwest - have all reported first quarter results that included their first losses in years.