8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d)

of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 8, 2017

UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC.

UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	001-06033	36-2675207
Delaware	001-10323	74-2099724
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification Number)
233 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL		60606
233 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL		60606
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

(872) 825-4000

(872) 825-4000

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code 

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On March 8, 2017, United Airlines, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of United Continental Holdings, Inc., issued a press release reporting its February 2017 operational results. The press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information in this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1, is being furnished and shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section and shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1*	Press Release issued by United Airlines, Inc. dated March 8, 2017

* Furnished herewith electronically.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Exchange Act, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC.
UNITED AIRLINES, INC.
By:	/s/ Chris Kenny
Name:	Chris Kenny
Title:	Vice President and Controller

Date: March 8, 2017

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1*	Press Release issued by United Airlines, Inc. dated March 8, 2017

* Furnished herewith electronically.

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

News Release
United Airlines Worldwide Media Relations 872.825.8640 media.relations@united.com

United Reports February 2017

Operational Performance

CHICAGO, March 8, 2017 – United Airlines (UAL) today reported February 2017 operational results.

UAL’s February 2017 consolidated traffic (revenue passenger miles) decreased 0.8 percent and consolidated capacity (available seat miles) decreased 0.4 percent versus February 2016. UAL’s February 2017 consolidated load factor decreased 0.3 points compared to February 2016.

“Our operational momentum continued in February, achieving more days without flight cancellations than any other month in the company’s history – further demonstrating to our customers that they can count on United to connect them to the moments that matter most,” said Scott Kirby, president of United Airlines. “We had more no-cancel days in the last two months than we had from 2011-2015 combined. This record performance is the result of the teamwork from our more than 87,000 professionals who are driven to build the world’s best airline for each other, our customers and everyone we serve.”

The company continues to expect first-quarter 2017 consolidated passenger unit revenue to be down 1.0 percent to up 1.0 percent compared to the first quarter of 2016.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate more than 4,500 flights a day to 339 airports across five continents. In 2016, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 143 million customers. United is proud to have the world’s most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 737 mainline aircraft and the airline’s United Express partners operate 483 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 192 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United’s parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol “UAL”.

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United Reports February 2017 Operational Performance / Page 2

Preliminary Operational Results

	February									Year-to-Date
	2017			2016			Change			2017			2016			Change
REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)
Domestic		8,038,257			8,060,066			(0.3	%)		16,772,201			16,402,890			2.3	%
Mainline		6,465,788			6,347,769			1.9	%		13,472,151			12,901,297			4.4	%
Regional		1,572,469			1,712,297			(8.2	%)		3,300,050			3,501,593			(5.8	%)
International		5,914,319			6,005,140			(1.5	%)		13,225,999			13,083,590			1.1	%
Atlantic		1,763,415			1,838,478			(4.1	%)		4,009,855			4,142,066			(3.2	%)
Pacific		2,413,447			2,380,701			1.4	%		5,351,305			5,150,543			3.9	%
Latin		1,737,457			1,785,961			(2.7	%)		3,864,839			3,790,981			1.9	%
Mainline		1,671,846			1,717,758			(2.7	%)		3,718,075			3,641,574			2.1	%
Regional		65,611			68,203			(3.8	%)		146,764			149,407			(1.8	%)
Consolidated		13,952,576			14,065,206			(0.8	%)		29,998,200			29,486,480			1.7	%
AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)
Domestic		9,839,177			9,924,195			(0.9	%)		20,474,223			20,022,125			2.3	%
Mainline		7,873,155			7,789,155			1.1	%		16,334,279			15,642,995			4.4	%
Regional		1,966,022			2,135,040			(7.9	%)		4,139,944			4,379,130			(5.5	%)
International		8,347,064			8,335,014			0.1	%		17,676,334			17,297,335			2.2	%
Atlantic		2,857,372			3,006,635			(5.0	%)		6,070,550			6,217,628			(2.4	%)
Pacific		3,313,533			3,066,565			8.1	%		6,869,690			6,420,239			7.0	%
Latin		2,176,159			2,261,814			(3.8	%)		4,736,094			4,659,468			1.6	%
Mainline		2,070,926			2,153,827			(3.8	%)		4,514,098			4,437,605			1.7	%
Regional		105,233			107,987			(2.6	%)		221,996			221,863			0.1	%
Consolidated		18,186,241			18,259,209			(0.4	%)		38,150,557			37,319,460			2.2	%
PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR
Domestic		81.7	%		81.2	%		0.5	pts		81.9	%		81.9	%		0.0	pts
Mainline		82.1	%		81.5	%		0.6	pts		82.5	%		82.5	%		0.0	pts
Regional		80.0	%		80.2	%		(0.2	) pts		79.7	%		80.0	%		(0.3	) pts
International		70.9	%		72.0	%		(1.1	) pts		74.8	%		75.6	%		(0.8	) pts
Atlantic		61.7	%		61.1	%		0.6	pts		66.1	%		66.6	%		(0.5	) pts
Pacific		72.8	%		77.6	%		(4.8	) pts		77.9	%		80.2	%		(2.3	) pts
Latin		79.8	%		79.0	%		0.8	pts		81.6	%		81.4	%		0.2	pts
Mainline		80.7	%		79.8	%		0.9	pts		82.4	%		82.1	%		0.3	pts
Regional		62.3	%		63.2	%		(0.9	) pts		66.1	%		67.3	%		(1.2	) pts
Consolidated		76.7	%		77.0	%		(0.3	) pts		78.6	%		79.0	%		(0.4	) pts
ONBOARD PASSENGERS (000)
Mainline		7,068			6,840			3.3	%		14,831			14,017			5.8	%
Regional		2,800			3,063			(8.6	%)		5,860			6,244			(6.1	%)
Consolidated		9,868			9,903			(0.4	%)		20,691			20,261			2.1	%
CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)
Total		235,364			195,470			20.4	%		468,842			396,513			18.2	%
OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE
Mainline Departure Performance1		68.5	%		70.3	%		(1.8	) pts
Mainline Completion Factor		99.2	%		99.2	%		0.0	pts

¹  Based on mainline scheduled flights departing by or before scheduled departure time

Note: See Part II, Item 6 Selected Financial Data of the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 for the definition of these statistics

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United Reports February 2017 Operational Performance / Page 3

Safe Harbor Statement

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements included in this investor update are forward-looking and thus reflect our current expectations and beliefs with respect to certain current and future events and anticipated financial and operating performance. Such forward-looking statements are and will be subject to many risks and uncertainties relating to our operations and business environment that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Words such as “expects,” “will,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “indicates,” “believes,” “forecast,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “goals” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Additionally, forward-looking statements include statements that do not relate solely to historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties or which indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this investor update are based upon information available to us on the date of this investor update. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the following: our ability to comply with the terms of our various financing arrangements; the costs and availability of financing; our ability to maintain adequate liquidity; our ability to execute our operational plans and revenue-generating initiatives, including optimizing our revenue; our ability to control our costs, including realizing benefits from our resource optimization efforts, cost reduction initiatives and fleet replacement programs; costs associated with any modification or termination of our aircraft orders; our ability to utilize our net operating losses; our ability to attract and retain customers; demand for transportation in the markets in which we operate; an outbreak of a disease that affects travel demand or travel behavior; demand for travel and the impact that global economic and political conditions have on customer travel patterns; excessive taxation and the inability to offset future taxable income; general economic conditions (including interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, investment or credit market conditions, crude oil prices, costs of aircraft fuel and energy refining capacity in relevant markets); economic and political instability and other risks of doing business globally; the effects of any hostilities, act of war or terrorist attack; the ability of other air carriers with whom we have alliances or partnerships to provide the services contemplated by the respective arrangements with such carriers; the effects of any technology failures or cybersecurity breaches; disruptions to our regional network; the costs and availability of aviation and other insurance; industry consolidation or changes in airline alliances; the success of our investments in airlines in other parts of the world; competitive pressures on pricing and on demand; our capacity decisions and the capacity decisions of our competitors; U.S. or foreign governmental legislation, regulation and other actions (including Open Skies agreements and environmental regulations); the impact of regulatory, investigative and legal proceedings and legal compliance risks; the impact of any management changes; labor costs; our ability to maintain satisfactory labor relations and the results of any collective bargaining agreement process with our union groups; any disruptions to operations due to any potential actions by our labor groups; weather conditions; and other risks and uncertainties set forth under Part I, Item 1A., “Risk Factors,” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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