United, American Airlines play down travel demand concerns

United Airlines and American Airlines Group on Wednesday tried to allay concerns about consumer demand, saying there has been no slowdown in post-summer travel bookings. US carriers have been witnessing the strongest travel demand since the pandemic. Over the four-day Labor Day weekend, 8.76m passengers made their way through US TSA checkpoints, surpassing 2019 levels. The travel demand, however, tends to cool down after Labor Day, which traditionally marks the end of the US summer. With children returning to school, family vacations typically slow down, leaving carriers mostly reliant on business travelers. Patrick Quayle, senior vice President at United Airlines, told Cowen's annual transportation conference that travel bookings, thus far, have defied that historical trend as there has been no drop off in ticket sales between August and September. "It does not appear that summer has come to an end," he said. "It's that strong." Encouraged by "a strong demand environment," the Chicago-based carrier on Wednesday revised up its revenue estimate for the current quarter. It now expects total operating revenue in the quarter through September to be up 12% from the same period in 2019, up from a prior forecast of 11%. United also lifted the forecast for adjusted operating margin on the back of improvements in non-fuel operating costs.<br/>