United: MAX grounding causes Q1 2024 pre-tax loss of $164 million

United Airlines has been negatively impacted by the 737 MAX 9 grounding in the first quarter of 2024, the airline has highlighted in its latest financial results, ‘without which the company would have reported a quarterly profit’. The financial impact of the grounding, noted by United to be in the region of $200 million, contributed to a pre-tax first quarter loss of $164 million. However, this Q1 figure was still a $187 million improvement on an adjusted basis over the same quarter last year. During the period, United generated $2.8bn operating cash flow and a free cash flow of $1.5bn,