United Airlines on Wednesday said it expects to surpass its pre-pandemic margins by 2023 but warned sales would suffer early this year as the Covid health crisis wears on.

United swung to a net loss of $1.9 billion in the fourth quarter from a $641 million profit a year earlier. Fourth-quarter revenue fell 69% to $3.41 billion, below analysts’ estimates of $3.44 billion.

The carrier’s full year net loss of $7.07 billion was the largest since 2005, according to FactSet.

“Aggressively managing the challenges of 2020 depended on our innovation and fast-paced decision making. But, the truth is that COVID-19 has changed United Airlines forever,” the carrier’s CEO, Scott Kirby, said in an earnings release.

Airline executives have said widespread availability of coronavirus vaccines will fuel a recovery in air travel. But the vaccine rollout has been slow and chaotic, marked by a shortage of doses.

While United was upbeat about its 2023 goal, the carrier isn’t expecting a quick turnaround early this year.First-quarter revenue will likely come in 65% to 70% below 2019 levels, the airline said. It estimated capacity in the first three months of 2021 will be at least 51% below the same period in 2019, echoing a similar outlook from American Airlines.

United burned about $33 million a day on average in the quarter, including debt and severance payments. Core daily cash burn, which strips those items out, averaged $19 million in the fourth quarter, $5 million less than the third quarter. The Chicago-based airline reported an adjusted loss of $7 a share, compared with estimates for a loss of $6.60 per share...

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/20/unit...-2020html.html