United Continental's Weak 2017 Just Got Worse

2017 is shaping up to be a down year for many airlines. Jet fuel prices are still quite low by historical standards, but the price of fuel has increased relative to 2016. Labor costs are also rising, as new union contracts kick in for many airline workers. Unit revenue isn't rising fast enough to offset these cost increases.

United Continental (NYSE: UAL) has been one of the hardest-hit airlines this year. The outlook just got worse, after Hurricane Harvey -- and some unrelated strategic missteps -- wrecked its third quarter profitability.

In the first six months of 2017, most U.S. airlines (including United) faced significant year-over-year increases in fuel prices for the first time in several years. While United Continental's revenue per available seat mile rose by 1.2% in the first half of the year, that wasn't nearly enough to offset its fuel and non-fuel cost increases.

Source: Fool.com