United looks to bid 2012 adieu as integration challenges start to stabilise

United Airlines is closing out the most difficult year of its merger integration with Continental Airlines that encompassed lagging revenue performance and reliability issues that drove crucial corporate customers into the arms of other carriers. The airline has declared it has rebounded from the operational challenges it faced during the high travel season of summer 2012, but only time will tell if customers that suffered during the summer snafus are willing to give United a second chance.

At the same time United was facing reliability challenges that drove its on-time performance to a low point of 64% in Jul-2012, the carrier was also plagued throughout 2012 by a significant unit revenue under-performance relative to its US legacy peers while feeling cost pressures related to the continuing integration with Continental.

United believes many of the difficulties it has faced during 2012 are beginning fade as carrier CEO Jeff Smisek recently asserted "the road is repaired", as the carrier's on-time arrival rate in Sep-2012 reached 82%. Metaphors aside, 2013 will prove to be a pivotal year for United as labour contracts are finalised and investors look for sustained revenue improvement.