United Airlines saw a $533m rise in income during the third quarter of this year compared with the same period of 2009, while Continental Airlines saw a $365m improvement. The two airlines, which merged on October 1, will announce join results in the fourth quarter.
United president Jeff Smisek said: "“Thanks to the efforts of my more than 80,000 co-workers across both airlines, we achieved strong third quarter financial and operational results at both United and Continental."
United’s net income for the period was $473m while Continental made $367m.
Smisek added: “We have begun our merger integration, and we have a lot of work ahead of us. By working together, we will create the airline that customers want to fly, employees want to work for, and shareholders want to own.”
