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United Airlines shares fell about 6% in afterhours trading on Monday after the carrier forecast a first-quarter loss, citing weaker demand growth compared with other months and higher fuel costs. The carrier expects an adjusted quarterly loss of between 60c and $1 per share, down from its previous projections of adjusted earnings of between 50c and $1 per share for the first three months of the year. “While all months of 2023 are expected to produce unit revenue significantly above the corresponding months in 2019, the Company is observing new seasonal demand patterns, with lower-demand months such as January and February 2023 growing less than higher-demand months,” United said in a securities filing after the market closed on Monday. The carrier said as a result it trimmed its estimate for unit revenues to between 22% and 23% over a year earlier, down from previous guidance of a 25% increase. As travelers return to more traditional booking patterns, such as traveling close to holidays and other popular vacation periods, second-quarter revenue will likely be higher than United previously expected with operating revenue up in the “mid-teens” over last year, the company said. The airline said it still expects to earn between $10 and $12 a share this year, on an adjusted basis. <br/>

A threat aboard a United Airlines aircraft prompted a massive emergency response that shut down Vermont’s international airport for about three hours before authorities determined the plane to be safe. The threat was made Sunday afternoon on a flight en route from Newark, New Jersey, to the Burlington International Airport, Burlington police said. After landing, the plane was taken to a separate area on the tarmac. Authorities searched the plane and its 65 passengers with bomb-sniffing dogs, one of the passengers, State Senate President Pro Tem Phil Baruth, told WCAX-TV. The passengers were able to deplane after sitting on the tarmac for almost two hours, Baruth said. Video from WCAX showed emergency personnel lining up the baggage on the ground in front of the aircraft before searching each piece. Baruth said the passengers were taken into a hangar. “They isolated us with police at both ends and they don’t know whether one of us could be a bad actor, so that doesn’t feel great,” he said. The airport was closed for about three hours and no incoming flights were canceled, said Burlington International Airport Director of Aviation Nicolas Longo. He said that by Monday, most passengers had been reunited with their luggage. He said the airplane’s crew was able to rest overnight and depart on their regular schedule Monday morning.<br/>

Good news for passengers looking for varied flight options between Frankfurt Airport and North America as United Airlines and Eurowings Discover launched their codeshare partnership last week. Under the newly minted collaboration, United Airlines will place its code on different routes that Eurowings Discover will operate. The US Department of Transportation approved the codeshare agreement on February 22nd, and the deal went live earlier last week on March 8th. The United Airlines code will be available on all Eurowings Discover flights from and to North America, consisting of Tampa Bay, Fort Myers, Orlando, Salk Lake City, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Anchorage. With that many flight services offered, passengers have more versatile booking options to, from, and within the US. Passengers will also find it easier to clock in their United MileagePlus points as Eurowings Discover is also integrated into the loyalty programs of its new Star Alliance codeshare partner. Redeeming MileagePlus points when booking Eurowings Discover flights is also possible for passengers. With all the long-haul flights offered under this codeshare agreement, the loyalty benefits are certainly a win-win for passengers. The German leisure carrier is also expected to be integrated into the loyalty program of COPA Airlines reasonably soon.<br/>

Korean airlines said Monday they will expand flights to China from later this month, as the two countries recently agreed to increase flights on their routes to pre-pandemic levels. Seoul and Beijing have the right to provide 608 flights a week on routes to each other's country, and they used to offer a combined 1,100 weekly flights before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the airline industry three years ago, according to the transport ministry. Korean carriers used to offer 450 to 470 flights a week on their routes to China before the pandemic. The flights to China accounted for one-fourth of their international flights. Local airlines plan to initially increase the number of flights on routes to Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao and Yanji this month. Korean Air, the country's biggest carrier, said it will increase the number of its weekly flights on Chinese routes from the current 13 to 84 at the end of this month and 99 at end-May. The 99 weekly flights reach 43 percent of the pre-pandemic levels offered by the national flag carrier. Asiana Airlines, the country's second-biggest carrier, plans to increase the number of weekly flights to China from the existing 10 to 89, 50 percent of the pre-pandemic levels, by April. Jeju Air, the country's leading budget carrier, said it aims to triple the number of weekly flights to China to 16 by the end of this month.<br/>

Taiwan's Eva Airways Corp said on Monday it would purchase five Boeing 787 widebody planes worth $1.78b at list prices. Eva Airways currently operates 10 Boeing 787 aircraft. Taiwan's other major carrier, China Airlines Ltd (2610.TW), agreed to buy 16 787 widebody planes last August to replace its ageing fleet of Airbus A330s.<br/>