United Airlines Inc.’s shares slipped 2.3% after hours to $43.40 after the company projected that capacity will be lower this year than in 2019, the year before the pandemic.
The company expects capacity in the first quarter will decrease between 16% and 18% compared with the first quarter of 2019. It projects revenue growth will fall by 20% to 25% over 2019’s first quarter.
The carrier said it started the year with a scaled-back schedule due to the effects of the spike in Covid-19 cases from the Omicron variant.
“Despite near-term volatility, bookings for spring travel and beyond remain strong,” the company said.
United expects to fly fewer available seat miles, a key industry metric, in 2022, compared with 2019. It also expects the cost per available seat mile will decline over the year.