For airlines, the first half of the year was riddled with uncertainty as they saw bookings falter. But United Airlines remained profitable. Kris Van Cleave spoke to CEO Scott Kirby about the state of the economy.

Newark Liberty International Airport

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby reports that the airline has recovered from earlier disruptions and is seeing strong demand for travel, particularly heading into the holiday season. Kirby notes that bookings have accelerated since mid-year and expects record numbers for upcoming holidays, suggesting the economy is performing better than some statistics indicate.

Kirby also comments on the broader airline industry, expressing skepticism about the sustainability of ultra low-cost carriers (ULCCs) such as Spirit Airlines, which has recently filed for bankruptcy again. He anticipates changes in the industry landscape, including the possibility of airline failures or consolidation, which could ultimately lead to higher prices for consumers.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby on the state of the economy

Turning now to the turbulence in the airline industry as Spirit reorganizes under another bankruptcy filing United Airlines says it has turned the corner on the massive disruptions this spring at Newark International Due to air traffic controller shortages and computer glitches the airline says it will hire 2,500 additional workers to it to handle an expansion of Newark flights by the end of next year CBS's transportation correspondent Chris Van Cleve talked to United CEO and joins me now. Welcome Chris John, you know the first half of this year for airlines was riddled with uncertainty and they saw Bookings falter and even though United managed to stay profitable throughout it really wasn't until July when they started to see bookings Accelerate the way they thought the year would go We talked to CEO Scott Kirby about what that may mean for the health of the economy in general We're a really good real-time indicator of the economy I think the economy today is actually stronger than a lot of the Backwards looking statistics would indicate because we're seeing it in the bookings data what you're feeling about where demand will be how busy? Yeah, you'll be come November December. So demand is pretty strong. I think the entire fourth quarter of the fall break Thanksgiving Christmas, they're all likely to set records With strong demand so the consumer does is starting to book and we see a lot of demand really across the board Going forward for the rest of the year Can this every season being a record season? Can that pace continue at some point? Don't you hit a ceiling? Well, you know as long as the economy keeps growing. I think that pace can continue Do you expect the mix of airlines we have today the mix of the models to to be here next year? Well, I think it'll change. I think the ULCC model is going away, but I think there's always going to be robust Competition do you expect some of the airlines that are at the table to to fail I do So Chris, what is he talking about there? Well, you heard him reference ULCC ultra low-cost carriers one of which spirit is in bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year and Scott has Said for a while now. He doesn't know that their business model is sustainable. So read between the lines a little bit He's skeptical that spirit or one of those competitors will be around their biggest competitor spirits biggest competitor is frontier We talked to their CEO today. He obviously disagrees with Scott that his business model is flawed But he does acknowledge that there is too much capacity out there for all of the airlines to be successful So what does that mean? We could be in for an airline failing We could see merger and acquisition a period of consolidation or less availability bottom line for flyers That could mean higher prices to fly a busy beat for you going forward Chris Van Cleve. Thank you so much

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