United on Tuesday reported higher-than-expected revenue as travelers returned in the summer, despite a hit from the delta variant. The airline didn’t give a timeline for when it would return to profitability. United posted net income of $473m thanks to a boost from $1.13b in federal payroll aid. Its Q3 sales totaled $7.75b compared with Wall Street analysts’ expectations for $7.64b and down 32% from the same quarter in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic began. It posted a per-share adjusted loss of $1.02, better than the $1.67 analysts expected. That loss strips out the benefit of federal aid. United shares were up more than 1.7% in postmarket trading after United reported its earnings. United said it expects its Q4 capacity to be down 23% compared with 2019 and that its sales for the last three months of the year would be down 25% to 30% from the same period two years ago, when it brought in $11.38b. <br/>
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Jet fuel prices are surging above pre-pandemic levels, an ominous headwind for airlines plotting a recovery from more than a year of losses. Despite lackluster demand, the cost of jet fuel has climbed about 70% so far this year alongside rising crude oil prices. United Tuesday forecast an average price of $2.39 a gallon in Q4, up from $2.14 in the most recent quarter. The airline paid $2.02 per gallon in Q3 2019. The carrier’s CEO, Scott Kirby, expressed confidence that his company will be able to keep costs in check as it looks to rebound. But United didn’t provide earnings guidance for the current quarter or full year. Rival Delta last week warned that rising fuel costs threaten its Q4 earnings. The Atlanta-based carrier is forecasting a price of $2.25 to $2.40 a gallon for Q4, compared with $1.94 in Q3 2019. <br/>
Tata Sons' US$2.4b purchase of debt-ridden, government-owned Air India will give the conglomerate immediate access to valuable flying rights and landing slots that will help it claw back market share from foreign rivals. But industry executives warn any success will be a long and complicated process that could cost it more than US$1 billion and require fixing myriad problems, including the airline's worn-out fleet, poor service and lack of a charismatic leader. Air India, with its maharajah mascot, was once renowned for its lavishly decorated planes and stellar service championed by the airline's founder, JRD Tata, India's first commercial pilot. But since the mid-2000s, its reputation has fallen as financial troubles mounted. It flew wide-body planes with business class seats in poor repair and grounded some of its new Boeing 787 Dreamliners to use for spare parts. Customers faced many delays and staff and suppliers were not always paid on time, executives said. "If you don't have newer airplanes or airplanes that are reliable, no matter what you do, you are going to have a problem," said a veteran aviation industry executive, who was not authorised to speak publicly about the matter.<br/>