Airlines Confidential · Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Scott McCartney and guest co-host Dave Hilfman reviewed third-quarter financial reports, revealing that United Airlines has caught and surpassed Delta Air Lines in profitability, posting a $1 billion profit and higher operating margins than Delta's $756 million profit.
“I think we can finally say United caught Delta and actually passed Delta. Higher operating margin, higher net margin, fatter earnings.”
“United posted profits of about $1 billion. Not too shabby considering the cost of fuel. And Delta was at $756 million, so also not too shabby.”