United Airlines said it expects to burn through $40 million to $45 million a day, on average, during the course of the current quarter, even though it has already grounded about 90% of its flights for the quarter.
But the airline said it has the resources to weather the current coronavirus crisis, despite saying that it has taken demand for air travel to “essentially zero.” As of Wednesday, the company said it has $9.6 billion.
The guidance comes as United reported its first loss since the first quarter of 2014. Overall it reported a loss excluding special items of $639 million, worse than a loss of about $500 million on that basis forecast by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. The net loss for the quarter came to $1.7 billion.
Shares of United were lower in after-hours trading following the report.
The company had already warned of a total pre-tax loss of $2.1 billion. Its executives will speak with investors on Friday morning.
The other three major US airlines - American, Delta and Southwest - have all reported first quarter results that included their first losses in years.