United beats on key measures, apologizes again for dragging incident

United Continental Holdings Q1 earnings Monday beat analysts' expectations on several key measures, and the carrier again apologised for the forceful removal of a passenger from a flight last week. The parent company of United, the US industry's third-largest by passenger traffic, reported earnings of 41c per share, excluding special items, beating analysts' consensus forecast of 38c. Revenue of $8.4b was up 2.7% year-over-year, slightly above the average estimate of $8.38b. Passenger unit revenue, which measures sales relative to flight capacity, was flat, in line with the Chicago-based company's estimate. United estimated a 1 to 3% increase in that closely watched measure in the second quarter. Higher fuel costs and recent labor agreements led to a 5.1% increase in unit cost per available seat mile from the year-ago period. "In the first quarter of 2017, our financial and operational performance gives us a lot of confidence about the foundation we are building. It is obvious from recent experiences that we need to do a much better job serving our customers," CE Oscar Munoz said. United is recovering from a public relations debacle after a passenger, Dr. David Dao, was dragged from his seat off the plane in O'Hare International Airport to make space for crew members.<br/>