Skift Take
United is betting a lot of money that costly long-haul, international flying is the place to grow and turn profits this decade.
United Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella does not think the international travel boom has run its course. Far from it.
Instead, the Chicago-based carrier has doubled down on long-haul, international travel with a robust summer 2024 schedule and orders for hundreds of new Boeing 787s to drive growth later in the decade.
"Ultimately, as you approach the end of this decade, the growth in the United States will be very much tied to GDP," Nocella said at the Skift Aviation Forum in Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday. That rate of economic activity-tied growth has long been true for mature aviation markets.
"But growing