United Airlines Reduces Domestic Capacity, Citing ‘Current Demand Environment’

United Airlines said Tuesday (April 15) that it will remove 4 percentage points of its scheduled domestic capacity, starting in the third quarter, in response to the “current demand environment.”

“United is also continuing to make prudent adjustments to the utilization rate of its fleet, including ongoing reductions in off-peak flying on lower demand days,” the airline said in a Tuesday (April 15) earnings release . “The airline expects to continue this approach into the fourth quarter of 2025.”

In addition, United will retire 21 aircraft earlier than it had previously planned, according to the release.

The airline said in the release that during the first quarter, it saw its passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) for domestic flights decline by 3.9%, while that for international flights rose by 5.2%.

United is set to hold an earnings call Wednesday (April 16).

The airline said March 11 that it had seen that government-related travel bookings were down 50% and that the domestic leisure market was also being impacted by government spending cuts.

American Airlines said the same day that it had seen softness in the domestic leisure segment and “increasing macroeconomic uncertainty.”

Delta Air Lines said in a Wednesday (April 9) earnings release that while it saw continued resilience in its premium, loyalty and international businesses during the March quarter, the domestic and main cabin businesses were soft.

“Coming into 2025, we were positioned for another year of strong growth,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said Wednesday during the airline’s quarterly earnings call. “However, given broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled.”

It was reported Monday (April 14) that airlines are focusing on roomier seats and other perks for wealthier leisure travelers as other customer segments cut back on their spending.

They are focusing on these amenities — and the customers who will pay for them — because their premium segment business is growing faster than their main cabin business for both consumer and corporate travel.

Airline CEOs have attributed the slower bookings to the current trade war, government layoffs, fewer international visitors to the U.S. and weaker demand for domestic coach seats from consumers who are price sensitive.