Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said that global long-haul demand continues to spread both earlier and later in the year out of the third quarter, making those periods stronger.

A United Airlines airplane is serviced at a gate at Newark Liberty International Airport on September 28, 2024, in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Ananya Mariam Rajesh·Stocktwits

Updated Oct 16, 2025 | 1:48 PM GMT-04

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United Airlines’ (UAL) Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella stated on Thursday that leisure demand was healthy heading into the fourth quarter.

“Not unlike 2024, capacity and demand are simply better balanced in the last quarter of this year, particularly for global long-haul flying,” Nocella said during a post-earnings call. He noted that global long-haul demand continues to spread both earlier and later in the year out of the third quarter, making those periods stronger.

“We saw bookings inflect positive in early July, and industry revenues are expected to be positive year over year for all remaining months of 2025,” he added.

The company noted that premium cabins outperformed the main cabin once again. Premium revenues were up 6% year over year, and the company said it had an all-time high business revenue ticketing during the week ending October 5.

Retail sentiment on United Airlines remained unchanged in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory, with message volumes at ‘extremely high’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits.

Shares of United Airlines were down nearly 8% in afternoon trading after the company’s third-quarter revenue came in at $15.23 billion, compared with Wall Street estimates of $15.30 billion, according to data compiled by Fiscal AI.

Its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter were $2.78, beating the estimate of $2.68. United Airlines said it expects adjusted EPS for the fourth quarter to be between $3 and $3.50 per share, compared to estimates of $2.83.

Deutsche Bank raised its price target on United Airlines to $125 from $100 and maintained a ‘Buy’ rating, according to TheFly. The firm cited its higher earnings outlook for United as the reason for the target bump.

United Airlines’ President Brett Hart said during the call that on Wednesday, the carrier’s first Starlink-equipped Boeing 737-800 took off from Newark following FAA certification last month. “This marks a major milestone in our journey to deliver the fastest, most reliable and free for MileagePlus members, Wi Fi in the skies. More than half of our regional flight now has Starlink successfully installed,” he added.

“We believe this superior in-flight experience will be truly game-changing as it expands across the remainder of our fleet by 2027,” Hart said.

Shares of United Airlines have gained nearly 31% in the last 12 months.

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