United Airlines says bank failures dinged corporate travel

After Silicon Valley Bank failed last month and raised fears about a wider banking crisis, bookings for last-minute business trips on United Airlines quickly dropped and remained depressed for about two weeks, underscoring how economic turmoil could choke off a strong run for the travel industry. United CEO Scott Kirby said Wednesday that business-travel bookings have since recovered, but the lesson was not lost. “It seems clear that the macro risks are higher today than they were even a few months ago,” Kirby said. He said United still expects a mild recession, “which is consistent with what we are currently seeing in our bookings, but we agree the tail risk is higher than normal.” Kirby said he still feels good about United’s forecast for full-year profit — which is higher than Wall Street expects. However, his remarks on a call with analysts exposed a crack in the airline industry’s otherwise solid front of rosy commentary about travel demand. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said last week that his airline saw no impact from the bank failures and other dire headlines. Consumers might be reducing their spending on cars and home-improvement projects, he said, “but they are certainly not pulling back on air travel.”<br/>