United Airlines reports Q4 loss

United Airlines reported another quarterly loss Wednesday on the lingering drag from Covid-19 but offered an upbeat outlook on a travel comeback later in 2022 and in future years.

The US carrier acknowledged that it is beginning 2022 "with a scaled-back schedule" following the latest uptick in virus cases, but will "nimbly ramp up" capacity later in the year, according to a news release.

"While Omicron is impacting near-term demand, we remain optimistic about the spring and excited about the summer and beyond," said United Chief Executive Scott Kirby.

United reported a fourth-quarter loss of $646 million, about a third of the loss from the year-ago period, but far from the $641 million profit in the 2019 period.

Revenues were $8.2 billion, more than twice the level in 2020 but a 25 per cent drop from the figure in the 2019 quarter.

The period covered by the release started buoyantly, with airlines seeing increased bookings as Covid-19 vaccinations were rolled out and most of the US economy reopened.