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News Release United Airlines Worldwide Media Relations 872.825.8640 media.relations@united.com UNITED Exhibit 99.1 A STAR ALLIANCE MEMBER United Releases First - Quarter Financial Results - Rebounding Demand is Driving Clear Path to Profitability Expects positive adjusted EBITDA margins * later this year Achieved highest customer satisfaction in history in the first quarter CHICAGO , April 19 , 2021 – United Airlines ( UAL ) today announced first - quarter 2021 financial results . The company has its eyes on the future , making continued progress on its commitment to remove $ 2 billion in structural costs and investing in key customer programs that will position the airline to capitalize on the recovery of business travel and long - haul international demand . Following its return to positive core cash flow¹ in the month of March , the company is focused on returning to positive adjusted earnings before interest , taxes , depreciation and amortization ( EBITDA ) margins , even if business and long - haul international demand remain as much as 70 % below 2019 levels . United is already moving to capitalize on emerging pent - up demand for travel to countries where vaccinated travelers are welcome . In fact , the company announced new international flying to Greece , Iceland and Croatia earlier today , subject to government approval . These opportunistic steps help position United to return to positive net income even if business and long - haul international demand only returns to about 35 % below 2019 levels . " The United team has now spent a year facing down the most disruptive crisis our industry has ever faced and because of their skill and dedication to our customers , we're poised to emerge from this pandemic with a future that is brighter than ever , " said United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby . " We've shifted our focus to the next milestone on the horizon and now see a clear path to profitability . We're encouraged by the strong evidence of pent - up demand for air travel and our continued ability to nimbly match it , which is why we're as confident as ever that we'll hit our goal to exceed 2019 adjusted EBITDA margins in 2023 , if not sooner . " United's efforts to improve the customer experience resulted in the company achieving its highest ever customer satisfaction in the first quarter . Looking ahead , the company is planning continued investment in customers , including continuing the United Polaris® retrofit program and starting retrofit on narrowbody aircraft , modernizing gates , upgrading and expanding United ClubSM locations in Newark and Denver , and rolling out tools that give customers the opportunity to pre - order onboard meals . * Adjusted EBITDA margin is a non - GAAP financial measure calculated as Earnings Before Interest , Taxes , Depreciation and Amortization ( EBITDA ) , excluding special charges and unrealized ( gains ) losses on investments , divided by total operating revenue . We are not providing a target or a reconciliation to profit margin ( net income / total operating revenue ) , the most directly comparable GAAP measure , because we are unable to predict certain items contained in the GAAP measure without unreasonable efforts . Adjusted EBITDA margin does not reflect certain items , including special charges and unrealized ( gains ) losses on investments , which may be significant . For a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net income for the three months ended March 31 , 2021 and 2019 and the 12 months ended December 31 , 2020 and 2019 , please see the accompanying tables to this release .