The operational failings and pursuant bad publicity at Newark Airport in late April and May drove down United's load factors there by as much as 15%, said COO Toby Enqvist during an earnings call Thursday.
And the combination of Newark capacity reductions and flyer angst hit United's overall second quarter profit margin by approximately 1.2 percentage points.
But the reopening in early June of a Newark runway that had been under construction, coupled with the FAA's having gotten a better hold on air traffic control technology and management problems that were deeply impacting the airport, has United feeling much better about Newark bookings for the remainder of the year.
For this quarter, which ends on Sept. 30, the airline still expects a 1 percentage point margin drag due to Newark.
"But here's the key takeaway, and it's really good news," Enqvist said. "We have already seen a dramatic turnaround in Newark. Bookings have largely recovered, and we don't expect any impact in Q4 because Newark isn't just back to normal, it's running better than ever."
Newark tops in on-time performance in June
For the month of June, Newark led the three major New York-area airports in both cancellation rate and on-time performance, Cirium data shows. The airport's on-time arrival rate was 74.2%, compared with just 70% at New York JFK and 66.7% at LaGuardia.
The Newark cancellation rate was 2.1%, slightly besting JFK.
During the course of the month, United was able to increase its Newark schedule from 290 daily departures through June 15 to 350 daily departures through June 26, and then to 380 flights per day.
During an interview last week, Jonathan Gooda, who heads United's Newark operations, said the airline had its best ever on-time performance for June at Newark, though the carrier didn't provide a specific figure.
Increased certainty in geopolitics
United's Newark update was part of an overall confident report put forward by the airline as it announced second-quarter earnings. Sales in July have jumped 6% thus far versus the second quarter, including double-digit increases in business revenues, chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella said.
CEO Scott Kirby attributed the improvement to increased certainty in the geopolitical environment, despite continued questions about U.S. tariff policy, as well to certainty on U.S. tax policy following the passage of the budget and policy bill early this month.
For the second quarter, United reported operating revenue of $15.2 billion, up 1.7% year over year and $100 million less than analyst expectations, according to the investment website Seeking Alpha. Operating expenses were $13.9 billion, up 6.5% on 5.9% more capacity.
United's net income for the second quarter was $973 million, down 26.4% from 2024.