United Airlines

Assessment

The Q2 2026 call, the earnings release, the investor update and the 10-Q contain no passage on AI. Management explained the quarter by fare increases recovering about half of the fuel increase, strong business and premium demand, the MileagePlus changes, Starlink Wi-Fi and the fleet plan. The CFO's focus on efficiency, the CEO's cost harmonization across the industry and the commercial officer's technology changes behind nested selling are described without AI and are not credited to it.

The nearest passage to the roster's note on customer communications is in the release: an automated customer service channel on WhatsApp for customers in Brazil, India and Mexico (claim c1). The release calls it automated, not AI, and gives no volume or cost, so it is context and opens no channel; automation the company does not attribute to AI is not an AI saving. A digital security wait time tracker in the app and record digital check-in are likewise described without AI.

Revenue grew 16% to $17.67bn. Salaries and related costs grew 6.2%, which the 10-Q puts on more flying, a 5.6% rise in headcount and the flight attendant agreement; other operating expenses grew 8.6%, again on flight activity, passengers and information technology projects without naming AI; non-fuel unit cost rose 6.1% on labor deals and capacity reductions. No line moves in a way the company or the ledger can tie to AI, and the quarter, like the first, registers no channel.