United Airlines new Polaris seat on one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners

Leslie Josephs/CNBC

Does it matter where you sit if you’re sipping Champagne in first class? United Airlines is betting that for some travelers looking for luxury at a discount, it doesn’t.

The carrier is launching new, cheaper tiers for its top-end Polaris and premium economy cabins that come with many of the same perks — but plenty of restrictions too.

Starting this spring, United will offer “Base” Polaris fares which will include a spot in the airline’s long-haul business class cabins featuring lie-flat seats, but will charge those customers extra for advanced seat selection.

The new ticket class will also come with only one checked bag instead of two, and with access to the United Club airport lounge but not the higher-end Polaris lounge, which include showers and other plush features. Ticket changes aren’t allowed.

Read more about airlines’ race to win over big spenders

The other categories for Polaris will be “Standard” and the more expensive “Flexible” option that allows for customers to pay up for the new, more spacious Polaris Studio suites.

The new fares show that United — and perhaps soon, other airlines — are dividing up the front of the plane into smaller categories, just as they have with coach over the past decade, from restrictive basic economy tickets to extra legroom fares.

United’s new strategy comes as it overhauls its nearly decade-old Polaris class with new suites that feature sliding doors and bigger screens, while customers continue to show their willingness to pay more to fly in better seats. United and its competitors have been racing to add more premium seating on its planes, sometimes removing some economy seats to do so.

A spokeswoman for United said customers in Base Polaris would get the same meals — including ice cream — as other passengers in the cabin. She declined to say what the price differences between the fares will be, but said the Base Polaris fare is meant to be an entry-level point for the premium class.

United is also launching similar segmentation for its premium economy class, Premium Plus.

The new options will be available in certain markets starting this month and will expand to other international and long-haul domestic markets later this year, United said.

Rival Delta Air Lines last year said it was also considering segmenting front-of-the-plane cabins.

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United Airlines

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United Airlines hiked its checked bag fee by $10 on Thursday, becoming the second U.S. carrier in less than a week to raise the fee as the industry grapples with this year’s surge in fuel costs, airlines’ biggest expense after labor.

United’s new fee will be $45 to check a first bag on most domestic itineraries if the traveler pays ahead of time and $50 if they pay within 24 hours of their flight.

“United is raising first and second checked bag fees by $10 for customers traveling in the U.S., Mexico and Canada and Latin America beginning with tickets purchased Friday, April 3,” the carrier said.

United last raised checked bag fees in 2024 and, like other carriers, is trying to cover the recent surge in jet fuel costs.

Fuel prices for Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New York averaged $4.56 a gallon on Wednesday, up more than 82% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb.28, according to data from Argus published by industry group Airlines for America.

JetBlue Airways on Monday hiked its checked bag fees at least $4 per bag — and up to $9 per bag, depending on when a customer’s travel is booked — CNBC first reported.

Competitors often follow suit with such fee increases. There are loopholes, however. Airline credit cards often give customers a free checked bag when they’re on domestic itineraries in coach and it usually comes as a perk with elite frequent flyer status. Also, first-class seats generally include a free checked bag.

“United Chase credit card holders, MileagePlus Premier members, active military members and customers traveling in premium cabins can still check a bag for free, and customers in most markets will still enjoy a $5 discount if they prepay for their bags online 24 hours before their flight,” United said.

Higher fuel is showing up at gas stations and other sectors, too. Amazon is adding a 3.5% “fuel and logistics-related surcharge” to fees it collects from third-party sellers who use its fulfillment services, CNBC reported earlier Thursday.

— CNBC’s Annie Palmer contributed to this article.

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United Airlines aircraft at Denver International Airport, Aug. 4, 2023.

Antonio Perez | Chicago Tribune | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

LOS ANGELES — United Airlines‘ formula for higher profits: fewer but better seats.

The country’s second-most profitable carrier after Delta Air Lines on Tuesday unveiled new cabin designs, including on some of its smallest planes, that feature more premium seating options and fewer in standard coach.

The differences in airfare for those seats can be vast. For example, a flight between United’s hub at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and San Francisco in the first week of May is going for $423 in standard coach and $5,556 in the carrier’s top-tier Polaris class on a Boeing 757.

Even with the spike in fuel prices, United’s executives have said in recent weeks that demand remains strong, noting that premium-travel demand has outshined the main cabin.

“The main cabin is also improving, and we’ve seen very strong demand across the board for United in Q1, but premium did lead the way yet again in the quarter, and continues to do so,” Andrew Nocella, United’s chief commercial officer, told reporters last week.

More premium

United plans to introduce a subfleet of narrow-body Airbus A321neo jets dubbed the “Coastliner” for transcontinental flights that will have 20 Polaris seats, which can recline into beds. Each Polaris seat will have aisle access.

Those jets will also have 12 premium economy seats and 36 extra-legroom seats on board, with the rest regular economy. United said it removed three seats from the plane’s standard configuration to install a snack bar at the back of the plane.

Current layouts of the plane don’t have premium economy, but they do have 57 extra-legroom seats and 123 seats in standard economy, along with 20 that are first-class recliners, not the lie-flat Polaris seats.

United said the first Coastliners will begin flying this summer and it will have 40 of them by the start of 2028.

The airline also announced its configuration for its longer-range Airbus A321XLR aircraft, which will replace some older Boeing 757s.

That layout also includes the 20 Polaris suites, 12 premium economy seats and 34 in extra legroom. The plane will debut this summer, and United said it could operate on some of its existing routes to Spain, France, Portugal and Brazil.

Read more about airlines’ race to win over big spenders

United will also add a seven-seat first-class cabin to its Bombardier CRJ-200 jets for a total of 41 seats on board, compared with the current 51-seat layout, which has only one cabin.

Furthermore, the airline is adding a new product to its main cabin that lets customers buy a row of seats that converts to a couch on some of its wide-body aircraft. The so-called “Relax Row” is designed for families but can also be purchased by one person who can then convert the seats into a bed, Nocella said at an event at Los Angeles International Airport. That will debut as early as next year and will be on more than 200 of its 787 Dreamliners and 777s by 2030, United said.

The first class cabin (front) inside a United Airlines Express CRJ-450, a redesigned CRJ-200 regional jet featuring a new cabin design, is displayed during a media event showcasing the airline’s new premium “Elevated” aircraft interior at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California on March 24, 2026.

Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images

Across the industry

The changes are part of an ongoing trend for airlines, which are dedicating more of the scarce real estate on planes to premium seats, as the growth from those higher-end options outpaces sales from regular economy.

Last year, United unveiled an upgraded Polaris suite for long-haul flights on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners that includes the “Polaris Studio,” which is larger than previous models and has 27-inch 4K screens, as well as an ottoman for guests.

United’s chief rival, Delta, has said it expects premium revenue to overtake main cabin sales this year. That carrier said last month that starting in May, the first of seven of its new Airbus A321neo jets will have 44 seats in first class, more than double the 20 it usually has.

The demand has been so high for plush new suites and other premium seats that the supply chain can’t keep up. The bottlenecks have even delayed delivery of aircraft, CNBC has reported.

Delta said the big first-class cabin on the A321neo is a medium-term measure, “intended to be in service for a limited time as Delta awaits delivery of flatbed suites that will ultimately be installed on these aircraft.” 

Meanwhile, United has been eyeing lie-flat seats for some of its newer narrow-body jets for years.

CEO Scott Kirby told reporters in August 2018 that the carrier was planning to offer lie-flat seats on new Boeing 737 Max 10 aircraft, though that plane still hasn’t been certified and is years behind schedule.

Other airlines are also adding higher-end seats.

JetBlue Airways, which was a pioneer in offering lie-flat seats and suites on its narrow-body Airbus fleet, plans to offer a less elaborate domestic first-class cabin later this year. Southwest Airlines recently debuted extra-legroom seats on its fleet of Boeing 737s, ending its decades of standard seating throughout its cabin.

Budget carriers Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines are also planning to add roomier seats.

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Starbucks union members and their supporters, including baristas who have just walked off the job, effectively closing a local branch, picket in front of the store, Feb. 28, 2025 in New York City. 

Andrew Lichtenstein | Corbis News | Getty Images

Starbucks Workers United presented the company with a comprehensive proposed contract last month, the union said on a call with investors Friday, as baristas attempt to strike their first labor agreement with the coffee giant.

Here’s what baristas asked for in that proposal:

• Protections for union baristas against discrimination, unjust firings and temporary or permanent store closures.
• Starting wage floor of $17 per hour, down from its prior proposal of $20 an hour but still above the company’s current starting wage of $15.25 to $16 an hour in 43 states.
• Annual raises of 4%.
• A process for baristas, management and union representatives to resolve workforce grievances.
• A dress code endorsed by the union.
• Requirement for at least three workers on the floor at all times and enforceable staffing and safety protections.
• A mandate to offer open hours to existing employees before hiring new baristas.
• Resolution of hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practice charges.

The union said Starbucks has not yet responded to the substance of the proposal.

The coffee giant told CNBC that it would like to restart talks with Workers United as soon as this month.

“Starbucks has proposed to resume in-person bargaining with Workers United on March 30 and to remain available for continued negotiations throughout April,” Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson said in a statement.

Workers United represents about 6% of Starbucks’ company-owned locations in the U.S., according to regulatory filings.

The announcement comes months after bargaining talks between the two parties hit a wall. Starbucks and the union last held formal negotiations in December 2024. Several months later, the two parties met for mediation, but hundreds of barista delegates voted down the economic package proposed by the company in April.

Over the holiday season, baristas in more than 40 cities held an open-ended strike that stretched on for several weeks. The work stoppage led to dozens of temporary store closures for the coffee chain during its busiest time, although the company said it didn’t materially affect its business.

Starbucks’ strained relations with its baristas will also likely garner attention at its annual meeting for shareholders, scheduled to be held on March 25.

A group of investors led by union-affiliated SOC Investment Group is urging shareholders to vote against the reelection of directors Jørgen Vig Knudstorp and Beth Ford, citing their oversight roles tied to the company’s labor relations. Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis has recommended voting against the reelection of Ford, chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee.

“The Starbucks Board has the necessary skills and experience to effectively oversee our strategy, including human capital management, which is vital to our ability to drive growth and deliver for our customers,” Anderson said in a statement to CNBC.

The prolonged battle between the company and its baristas poses a potential roadblock to Starbucks as it attempts a turnaround of its sluggish U.S. business. During the company’s holiday quarter, its store traffic rose for the first time in two years.

In Starbucks’ most recent annual filing, the company noted potential risks ahead, like further work stoppages or harm to its reputation and brand.

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Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, speaks during the WSJ’s Future of Everything 2025 at the Glasshouse on May 29, 2025 in New York City.

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BOSTON — United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the spike in fuel prices since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday will have a “meaningful” impact on the carrier’s financial results this quarter, but he added that demand has been resilient.

Jet fuel, airlines’ biggest expense after labor, has surged 58% since last Friday, going for $3.95 a gallon on Thursday, according to the Argus U.S. Jet Fuel Index.

“If it continues we’ll feel it in Q2 also,” Kirby said after an event Thursday afternoon where he discussed the future of air travel at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

United, like most major U.S. carriers, doesn’t hedge fuel, a practice where airlines or other companies lock in prices using futures contracts or other products. A Boeing 737-800 can hold 6,875 gallons of fuel, according to a manufacturer guide.

“No one hedges anymore and even if you do, hedging the crack spread is really hard to do,” Kirby said. The crack spread is the difference between the price of crude oil and products like gasoline.

When asked when the higher fuel costs will start affecting airfares, Kirby said it will “probably start quick.” 

He added that travel demand has been resilient over all, with booked revenue up 20% from a year ago. Demand “has not taken even a tiny step back,” he said.

Read more about the Middle East conflict’s travel impact

Kirby spoke less than two weeks before airlines are set to attend a closely watched JPMorgan industry conference where airline executives often update their financial outlooks.

His comments are an early sign of how global airlines are impacted by the war, which left more than a million people stranded after over 25,000 flights were canceled, forcing customers to find alternatives to flight chaos in the Middle East.

A new segment is emerging for United because so many customers have been caught up in airspace closures and massive flight cancellations in the Middle East since Saturday’s attacks and other strikes throughout the week.

Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates is the busiest international airport in the world, according to the Airports Council International, while Hamad International Airport that serves Doha, Qatar, is another major hub.

The airports are gateways to millions of passengers flying to and from destinations that span Australia, India, Europe and North America. But customers have been forced to avoid the Middle East amid airspace closures.

“Each day this week, we have booked over 1,000 people from Australia and New Zealand to Europe. Last year, we booked less than one a day,” Kirby said, adding that Europe has been the strongest region in the world for bookings now.

United is also in talks with the Trump administration for potential charter flights to get citizens out of the Middle East, Kirby said, but those plans haven’t been set yet.

Read more CNBC airline news

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A United Airlines airplane at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Nov. 6, 2025.

Brandon Bell | Getty Images

United Airlines on Tuesday said it could generate record earnings this year thanks to strong travel demand, with sales of premium seats, business travel and no-frills tickets robust in recent weeks.

The carrier expects adjusted earnings per share of between $12 and $14 this year, in line with the $13.16 analysts expected. For the first quarter, United forecast per-share earnings of $1 to $1.50, while analysts had estimated $1.13 a share.

United joined its rival Delta Air Lines in forecasting potential record earnings for the year. The two carriers accounted for almost all of the U.S. airline industry’s profit in the first nine months of 2025. Other airlines are set to report later this month.

United’s unit revenue fell 1.6% in the fourth quarter compared with last year. Still, United said premium revenue rose 9% in the fourth quarter and 11% for the full year over 2024. Restrictive basic-economy ticket sales, which compete with discount airlines, were up 7% in the last three months of 2025.

Most airlines are chasing revenue from higher-priced tickets like first class, racing to add in fresh, new cabins that command a premium.

Here is what United Airlines reported for the quarter that ended Dec. 31 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on estimates compiled by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $3.10 adjusted vs. $2.94 expected
• Revenue: $15.4 billion vs. $15.4 billion expected

The carrier’s fourth-quarter profit rose 6% from a year earlier to $1.04 billion, or $3.19 a share, while capacity rose 6.5% from the same period in 2024. Adjusting for one-time items, United posted earnings of $1.01 billion, or $3.10 a share.

United CEO Scott Kirby has expressed confidence in the airline’s growth plan, saying in an interview with CNBC last year that “customers are choosing us.”

The longest-ever government shutdown, in the fourth quarter, hit pretax United results by $250 million, the company said. Air traffic controller shortages sparked delays and dented bookings but travel recovered, airline executives said.

United reported adjusted, full-year 2025 earnings of $10.20 a share, up 8% year over year, after the carrier had previously lowered its forecast for the year. The airline also reported adjusted net income of $3.5 billion for the year, up 6% from a year earlier.

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A Delta Airlines plane takes off near the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.

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Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines called on Congress Thursday to reopen the U.S. government and pay air traffic controllers, with Delta urging senators to “immediately pass a clean continuing resolution.”

U.S. air traffic controllers missed their first full paychecks on Tuesday as the government shutdown drags on through a fourth week with no end in sight while Republican and Democratic senators remain at an impasse.

“Missed paychecks only increases the stress on these essential workers, many of whom are already working mandatory overtime to keep our skies safe and secure,” Delta said in a statement Thursday.

Read more CNBC government shutdown coverage

Delta CEO Ed Bastian had warned earlier this month that the airline could see impacts from a prolonged shutdown.

Vice President JD Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hosted a roundtable at the White House Thursday afternoon with the lobby group Airlines for America, whose members include Delta, United, American and others.

“Airlines remain focused on preserving safety and trying to mitigate the operational impacts of this shutdown,” Airlines for America said in a statement. “We are expecting a record holiday travel season; however, if the shutdown continues much longer, Americans will have to pack their patience and be prepared for more delays, unfortunately.”

United CEO Scott Kirby told reporters outside the White House that Congress should pass a clean continuing resolution, adding that the shutdown is putting stress on the economy.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, joined by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, speaks to reporters outside the White House on Oct. 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images News | Getty Images

American Airlines said it was unacceptable that the federal employees were working without pay.

“A prolonged shutdown will lead to more delays and cancellations — and the American people, especially during the busy holiday season, deserve better,” the company said in a statement.

Air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers are essential employees who are required to work through the shutdown even though they are not receiving regular paychecks.

The missed paychecks come as controllers grapple with a longstanding staffing shortage. There are 3,800 fewer fully certified controllers than the FAA’s target, according to Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

“These additional distractions will compound the existing risks in an already strained system,” Daniels said in an opinion piece in The Hill on Tuesday.

“Every day the shutdown continues, the National Airspace System becomes less safe than it was the day before, as the controllers’ focus shifts from their critical safety tasks to their financial uncertainty,” he said.

The shutdown began on Oct. 1 after Senate Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement to keep the government open.

Democratic senators are insisting that Republicans agree to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies before they will vote for funding to reopen the government.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated Wednesday that a four-week shutdown would cost the economy at least $7 billion by the end of 2026. A six-week shutdown would cost the economy $11 billion, and an eight-week shutdown would cost $14 billion, according to CBO estimates.

Flights have been delayed at several U.S. airports over the past month but the severe disruptions that preceded the end of the longest-ever shutdown, between late 2018 and early 2019, have not occurred.

— CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.

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An American Airlines Airbus A321 taxis at San Diego International Airport as a United Airlines airplane departs on August 24, 2024 in San Diego, California.

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FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines started pouring customers Champagne Bollinger in its top-tier lounges and cabins this fall. But at headquarters, it’s not time to celebrate — yet.

American has fallen behind large rivals Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in the post-Covid luxury travel boom that has taken Seoul spa vacations and 40th birthday bashes abroad out of the chat and armed millions of consumers with high-end rewards credit cards.

In the first nine months of this year, Delta made $3.8 billion and United made $2.3 billion. American made $12 million. That means that American, which offers more flights than any other airline, according to OAG, accounted for just 2% of the profit the biggest three U.S. carriers generated so far in 2025.

American ranked last in a J.D. Power’s North American airline customer satisfaction ranking this year. The carrier has also been working to undo damage from a failed business-travel sales strategy.

And American, which branded itself the “on-time machine” in the 1980s, in the first half of this year ranked ninth out of 10 airlines for on-time arrivals, according to the Department of Transportation.

The airline is trying to change all of that and uplift its brand after strategy errors, some skittishness about spending, and at times being late to capitalize on industry trends, like travelers’ willingness to pay up to sit in bigger seats, according to current and former executives and industry watchers.

To make that happen, CEO Robert Isom will have to rally American’s more than 130,000 employees around the airline’s plans and win over both customers and investors. American’s stock is down 20% this year through Friday’s close, compared with modest gains posted by Delta and United.

Last week, however, some investors noticed a change within American, whose fourth-quarter profit forecast surpassed Wall Street analysts’ expectations. Shares rose more than 16%, their biggest weekly percentage gain in almost a year.

“You’re going to have a three-month period where you have to be crystal clear on your story,” said Melius Research airline analyst Conor Cunningham, referring to the airline’s leaders.

The bigger changes are going to take time and money.

“American hasn’t been paying attention to the customer for the longest time,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of the Atmosphere Research Group travel consulting firm. “I believe there is the beginning of a meaningful turnaround … but a large airline like American is not going to be turned around overnight.”

‘Everyone felt it was price and schedule, and that’s it’

American has tasked Heather Garboden — who has worked for more than two decades at American and US Airways, including roles in the cargo and finance departments, and now is chief customer officer — with leading a lot of a nose-to-tail revamp of the nearly century-old airline.

“Fifteen years ago, I don’t think in the industry, there was much of a belief that customer experience … really drove a differentiation between airlines. I think everyone felt it was price and schedule, and that’s it,” she said in an interview. “That has changed, and we understand that.”

American fell behind with both retailing fares and technology compared with large U.S. rivals. At Delta, the most profitable U.S. airline, its executives were early to notice how customers were paying up for pricier first-class seats, precious real estate it and other airlines used to give away to frequent flyers as free upgrades. Now, offering buy-ups is more common among all three, and American is looking for more ways to sell those seats and to make sure its planes have enough of them to offer.

One challenge for American has been that it was last of the big three airlines to complete a mega merger in 2013 when it combined with US Airways, while Delta and United had years-long head starts to get through their integrations and improve their products.

New lounges, coffee and suites

Garboden spent much of her career in the finance departments and said it’s tough to provide that team with the return-on-investment of something like Champagne but that it’s still important.

“Customer experience, it’s not just Champagne. It’s not just a nice seat. It’s not just having the best lounge,” she said. “It’s the whole holistic view of it, and from end to end, [how] we want it to feel.”

Including new aircraft, American expects its capital spending to total $3.8 billion this year, and rise to about $4.5 billion next year, the carrier said Thursday. It said it has nearly $37 billion in total debt, and plans to cut that down by about at least $2 billion before 2028.

One example of how things have changed: American’s management team nearly a decade ago decided to remove seat-back screens from its aircraft, saving money on the equipment (and the fuel-sucking weight they add to the plane) because at the time they said customers would likely use their own mobile phones, tablets or laptop to watch entertainment.

United, some of whose senior leadership team, including its chief executive, Scott Kirby, came from American, has done the opposite and is in the process of adding thousands of screens to narrow-body planes both new and old, including Bluetooth technology for wireless headphones.

American might be changing its tune. “I think of where the technology was a decade ago, and where it can be today, or even a few years from today,” Garboden said. “Hopefully the complexity is less.”

An seatback on an American Airlines Boeing 737.

Leslie Josephs/CNBC

American is working to make its website and app better, with features like a way to toggle between paying for tickets with cash or miles, Garboden said, among other revamps that executives hope will drive sales — and paid upgrades. Another goal: using artificial intelligence and allowing customers to search for vacation themes, such as “best wine tasting in spring” instead of searching for flights between cities, she said.

American is also in the middle of a push to refresh many of its longer-haul premium cabins and announced on Thursday that it will refurbish its Boeing 777-200 aircraft with a new business class, adding to an upgrade, first unveiled three years ago, of its larger Boeing 777-300 jets.

“That is a big deal for us because extending the lives of those and putting those into service really gives us a capital spending holiday in terms of fleet replacement,” Isom said in an earnings call with analysts on Thursday. “So it’s a win-win-win for our customers, for our company and, most certainly, our investors.”

Those plans are made years in advance, and high demand, supply chain problems and long certification wait times have delayed plusher cabins, exasperating airline executives.

Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards

On Thursday, American’s first Airbus A321 XLR, a long-range narrow-body plane it plans to fly across the country and, eventually to Europe, touched down at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. On all three aircraft types, it will do without first class in favor of a larger business class. For flights over the Atlantic it can cost $600 in the back and well over $6,000 up front.

The new suites that feature sliding doors, larger screens and a palette of dark browns, navy blue and tan, started flying this year on some of American’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners, subset P, for “premium.”

American Airlines new business-class suite.

American Airlines

Meanwhile, the union that represents American’s attendants is pushing the carrier add more crew members on board to cater to the larger business-class cabins.

“Staff your airplanes the way a world-class airline should — and deliver a competitive onboard experience in every cabin,” the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the pilots’ union and unions at the carrier said in a message on Friday that was sent to staff but directed at the carrier, targeting the airline’s underperformance compared with rivals.

American’s updates even have it rethinking beverages throughout the plane. The airline signed a coffee provider deal with Italy’s Lavazza recently, and to test out the brews, it brought airplane water to its headquarters in Fort Worth so staff could evaluate what it would taste like brewed on board. Lavazza made the cut.

The airline on Thursday named Nat Pieper as is chief commercial officer, a nearly three-decade airline veteran who’s worked at Alaska Airlines and Delta and who Isom described as “exactly the kind of leader we want at American.” American fired its former CCO, Vasu Raja, last year after his business-travel strategy backfired and sparked outrage from travel agencies.

There are signs of progress.

“Exiting this year, we expect to have fully recovered the revenue share that was lost by our prior sales and distribution strategy,” Isom said Thursday.

American also just inked a new credit card deal with Citi and last week said it would introduce a new mid-tier card, with a $350 annual fee.

One-time pioneer, new challenges

American Airlines was an industry leader for decades. It was the first to launch a frequent flyer program, AAdvantage. Loyalty programs, which in large part make money from selling frequent flyer miles to banks, have now become the lifeblood of many airlines.

The airline this year announced new measures to improve reliability. One change: five additional minutes of boarding time. An American spokeswoman said that helps avoid bottlenecks and last-minute gate-checked bags, which she said are down 25% since May 1.

Some of American’s challenges are fairly recent. A federal judge in 2023 blocked American’s regional tie-up with JetBlue Airways, leaving it without a partner in key, wealthy markets like Boston and New York, where United and Delta had made inroads.

United this year scooped up a partnership with JetBlue that allows customers to earn and burn miles on each others airline, but stops short of coordinating schedules or routes. It took effect on Thursday, as American was reporting its third-quarter results.

American dominates its fortress hubs in Dallas and Charlotte, North Carolina, profitable operations, though it has fallen behind in the Northeast. Other companies have looked to the Sun Belt for growth as the population there grew.

United and Delta executives have credited some of their success to having lots of flights in big coastal hubs with affluent travelers, though United has also built up flying in key markets like Denver, Houston and Chicago.

‘Generational lead’

An American Airlines Airbus A321-231 airplane taxis to depart from San Diego International Airport to Dallas at sunset on November 22, 2024 in San Diego, California.

Kevin Carter | Getty Images News | Getty Images

While American has been reluctant to make big investments, United’s CEO Kirby earlier this month told investors that the airline is plowing more than $1 billion a year into improving customer experience.

United recently started flying planes with free Wi-Fi provided by SpaceX’s Starlink, following Delta and JetBlue in making the service complimentary. American plans to roll out complimentary Wi-Fi next year for most of its fleet.

United said such investments take years.

“We have built up a generational lead on this front,” United’s chief commercial officer, Andrew Nocella, said in an interview, adding that new products are coming in the next few years. (He declined to provide details.) “We think it’s substantial, and I don’t want to give an inch of that ground up, no matter what our competitors do to innovate over the next decade.”

Some customers, however, continue to value the convenience American offers them, and have remained loyal.

Todd Bryan, 41, who has Executive Platinum status on American, said he chooses the carrier in large part because it has the most frequencies out of where he lives, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The 41-year-old sales account manager who works in the consumer packaged goods industry, said he gets upgraded on most of his flights, but he has noticed that American has been more aggressive about offering buy-ups with cash or miles.

Even though he’s usually at the top of the list, he now considers taking the offer instead of gambling on a free upgrade on personal trips if “it feels cheap enough that I assume someone else would buy it too.”

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CEO of United Airline Scott Kirby speaks during the Semafor 2025 World Economy Summit at Conrad Washington on April 24, 2025 in Washington, DC.

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United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the federal government shutdown could hurt bookings if it continues.

Despite the funding impasse, essential federal employees including Transportation Security Administration officers and air traffic controllers are required to work without pay. The shutdown started Oct. 1 as Congress failed to pass a funding bill.

Speaking on an earnings call on Thursday, Kirby said the shutdown so far hasn’t impacted the carrier’s business.

“I think that at least for the first couple of weeks, people thought it was going to get resolved, so they just kind of continued business as usual,” he said. “But as time goes on, as people read headlines and say, ‘it’s not going to get resolved soon.’ People start to lose confidence in the government and the government’s ability to resolve this. And that’s going to start to impact bookings.”

Kirby said there isn’t an exact cutoff for when the airline could start to see an impact, but added “every day that goes by, the risk to the U.S. economy grows. So I hope we will avoid an unforced error here.”

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Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian last week made a similar warning about how a prolonged shutdown could affect air travel but emphasized that the airline’s operation hadn’t been affected.

The shutdown has raised concerns about already thin-staffing among air traffic controllers, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Insufficient staffing at some FAA facilities last week disrupted flights at airports, including in Nashville, Tennessee, and Burbank, California.

Members of the union that represents U.S. air traffic controllers handed out leaflets outside of LaGuardia Airport in New York, as well as in Washington, D.C., and Chicago on Tuesday to urge the public to ask lawmakers to end the shutdown.

A more-than-monthlong shutdown starting in late 2018 ended hours after a shortage of air traffic controllers snarled air travel in the New York area.

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