United Q1 $900M profit
 

Here are the numbers. The $4.8B of operating cash flow has to be a record for a Q1. Same with $2.9B free cash flow.

Q1 pre-tax profit of $900M (Delta $532M)
Generated $4.8 billion of operating cash flow. (Delta $2.4B)
Generated $2.9 billion of free cash flow. (Delta $1.2B)
Fuel costs were $340M hit to earnings vs last year
Capacity up 3.4% compared to first-quarter 2025.
Total operating revenue of $14.6 billion, up 10.6% compared to first-quarter 2025.
TRASM up 6.9% compared to first-quarter 2025.
CASM up 4.4%, and CASM-ex up 5.9%, compared to first-quarter 2025.
Pre-tax earnings of $0.9 billion, with a pre-tax margin of 6.0%; adjusted pre-tax earnings of $0.5 billion, with an adjusted pre-tax margin of 3.4%.
Generated $4.8 billion of operating cash flow.
Generated $2.9 billion of free cash flow.
Ending available liquidity of $17.2 billion.

Will finish 2026 with 1,180 aircraft, more than 100 from the beginning of the year. 96 777s and 101 787s.

These numbers look compelling on the surface but the comparison is largely apples-to-oranges, and here's why:

The pre-tax income gap is mostly noise. UAL's $870M GAAP pre-tax includes $444M in sale-leaseback gains on aircraft transactions — essentially UAL sold planes and leased them back, booking a one-time accounting gain that flows straight through to pre-tax income. Strip that out and UAL's adjusted pre-tax is $498M vs Delta's $532M. Delta actually wins on an adjusted basis, which is the only number that reflects actual airline operations.

The cash flow comparison is even more misleading. UAL's $4.8B operating cash flow and $2.9B free cash flow look dramatically better, but Delta's $2.4B operating cash flow reflects a fundamentally different balance sheet structure. UAL raised $2.2B in new unsecured debt during Q1 and paid down $3.1B — that debt activity flows through financing, but the advance ticket sales and other working capital movements that accompany capacity growth inflate operating cash flow optically. UAL's FCF definition is:
Operating cash flow + Investing cash flow, adjusted for short-term investments and restricted cash. Since Sales Lease Back proceeds land in investing activities as an inflow, they directly reduce the net cash used in investing, which flows straight into UAL's free cash flow calculation. So the $444M in SLB proceeds is essentially boosting UAL's reported $2.9B free cash flow dollar for dollar.

Straight from the earnings release:
"During the three months ended March 31, 2026, and 2025, the company recorded $389 million and $108 million, respectively, of net gains on sale of assets and other special charges, which were primarily comprised of $444 million and $110 million, respectively, of gains on various aircraft sale-leaseback transactions"

"Additionally, for the first time since 2019, United returned to the unsecured market and successfully raised $2 billion across two unsecured bond issuances — exceeding initial expectations"

Just wanted to add some context on what investors actually look at. And for those of you who dont know what a Sales Lease Back is, its where a company sells an asset it owns and simultaneously agrees to lease it back from the buyer. Frontier airlines has been doing this agressively to boost their numbers for example. You get immediate cash but you've traded an owned asset for a future stream of lease payments.

$17.2 billion available liquidity is... a good place to be in times like these.

Definitely. Just like Covid only this time UA's credit rating is far better as are the terms more than likely. The free cash flow even with the SLB is impressive while paying down debt and adding 34 net aircraft to the fleet. UA owned 958 mainline aircraft at the end of 2025 so plenty of flexibility.

Your comparison itself is "apples to oranges". You adjusted United's GAAP earnings, but not Delta's, instead choosing to just use operating earnings for Delta but GAAP for United. I used the same for both.

These are pre-tax GAAP earnings for both airlines. United $498M - Delta $214 pre-tax LOSS.

From delta's own press release
https://ir.delta.com/news/news-detai...s/default.aspx
March Quarter 2026 GAAP Financial Results

Operating revenue of $15.9 billion
Operating income of $501 million with an operating margin of 3.2 percent
Pre-tax loss of $214 million with a pre-tax margin of (1.4) percent
Loss per share of ($0.44)
Operating cash flow of $2.4 billion

Not sure where you got "958 mainline aircraft" but United had 1,054 planes at the end of 2025 and will finish 2026 with 1,180.

According to the UAL 2025 annual report at the end of 2025 UA had 1,066 mainline aircraft of which 958 were 'owned' and 108 were 'leased'.

Nice numbers! Glad you guys are killing it. Just here to see the Peachtree hat guys get defensive and offended ;)

Friendly, you’re crashing and burning here. Your first comparison in your original post was UA’s GAAP pre-tax earnings of $900M to DL’s non-GAAP of $532M. Even a moron like me can see that.

Delta made more with better margins. Only non-GAAP matter when comparing.

Friendly’s numbers are straight up wrong ;)

Delta dudes really can’t stand not being #1 at everything lol

Break, Break

I remember the last townhall management said that we have more than we needed/wanted of the MAX9. I bet that’s why they’re doing a SLBs with them. They mentioned that once the MAX is certified, we will never take another delivery of a MAX9

Raising $2.2 billion unsecured debt has no impact on operating cash flow, not sure what you’re on about. United doubled Delta’s operating cash flow for Q1 ($4.8 billion vs $2.4 billion). That’s the cleanest comparison you’re going to get. United also best Delta in total operating revenue when you remove Trainer ($14.6 billion vs $14.2 billion). This is the first time that has ever happened in the post-consolidation period. There are eye watering results by United and the trend post-COVID has been very clear. I remember last year Kirby saying Hauenstein picked the perfect time to retire.

And for deltas numbers how much of that is refinery?

it's just one 'dude,' and his cheer leading is not appreciated on the Delta threads, either, FWIW

I'd love to see UAL be successful---and then maybe then UALPA can raise the bar for the industry and do the heavy lifting this time.

I was more so stating that paying down debt while simultaneously raising debt doesn’t support Friendlys initial debt numbers. The cleanest comparison you can get is total net income…and the two were very close with Delta barely coming out on top. Interesting enough Q1 of 2025 UA bested DL in total net income.

You act all high and mighty as if you did anything more than vote on the TA (and chances are you might not have even done that).

You’re no different from rip.

0% chance T773ER’s post was not AI

UAL's net income was $699m and DAL's was a $289m loss. IOW UAL made about a $1b more than DAL in Q1.

“how much of a good investment did your company make to protect itself”? Like what :eek:

Yet somehow, at the end of every year, Delta makes much more and the gap between the two will more than likely increase due to fuel. Same song and dance as last year and every year before.

Whats with the measuring contest between the two? Aren’t both just crushing/dominating profits wise?

He's an insecure new hire whose entire identity is DAL. Pay him no mind. Half the stuff he says is completely made up, to boot.

Why do the pilots give a flying fork about the granular level of these numbers? We have zero to do with it. As long as we keep getting top dollar in the industry(we are) and can reasonably expect the company to be able to continue to pay us, I don’t give a hoot about all the nerd math. Those that like to tell each other “my airline can beat up your airline” are silly. We’re all just cost units to the C suite. Nothing more.

it’s telling that when a post is made in the UAL forum about our Q1 impressive results, a bunch of Delboys come in to shout about how great they are.

Their employer is their identity and they’re insecure about their success.

dunno. ask friendlypilot. he/she seems to get pretty jacked up about the numbers and who’s #1. either his bonus is tied to it or his entire life is wrapped up in it.

Remind him in 2008 Delta was about to liquidate.

Hahaha suck it Delta!

like clockwork!!

You know United is doing well when the insecure peach tree possy comes out to our forums to play :D

I’ll just pull the pin and toss this in here.

seems like it will be plenty of money to buy B6 free and clear with little effort.

You spelled American wrong.

Well, you spelled Merican wrong =)

Congrats to the employees of UAL. I hope it continues and you have a great profit sharing next year. UAL appears to be firing on all cylinders. Your turn to lead the profession, now go out and get a great contract that we (Delter) can piggyback off of!

^^^This^^^

That this isn't the attitude across both employee groups, whoever is doing "better," is pretty sad. We all benefit when times are good.

Its actually better for employees if all airlines are making money and prospering, because desperate airlines do desperate things with pricing which in turn drags down yields for most.

You're here posting as well and complaining and disputing it, so does that mean your "entire life is wrapped up in it"? Do I really occupy that much space in your head? Should I be paying rent to you?

My first 6 years at United were pretty fun, but it went downhill pretty soon after that. Its been very nice the last decade or so and with just under 5 years left there is nothing wrong with being proud of being at an airline that's being run the way we always though an airline should be run. Also everything I posted was a cut and paste from both United's and Delta's earnings reports.

So yes, I'm proud and excited, but mostly for the younger pilots who will have a much better career experience than I had overall, and much better than my friends hired 3-5 years after me from 1998-2000 who were furloughed and/or stagnated for over a decade. I just don't want to see any pilot have that happen to them.

I don't think anything I wrote suggests otherwise. A rising tide lifts all boats.