United Airlines continues pledges of improvement while its lacklustre performance continues

United Airlines' top-line 3Q2013 profit was undermined by weaker unit revenue and yield performance relative to its US legacy peers, a problem that has plagued the carrier for the past year.

The weaker performance is the latest in a string of quarterly results in which the carrier has declared disappointment and pledged that its fortunes will improve. Specific to 3Q2013, the culprits ticked off by the airline included incorrect demand forecast projections, continued pressure in the trans-Pacific and some suboptimisation of its fleet.

To say United has endured a rough couple of years is an understatement. But what the industry and its investors are looking for now is a meaningful improvement in its results that so far has yet to materialise. Three years after the merger's close the company is still struggling with revenue and cost management - basic tenets of the business that continue to suffer.