U.S. airlines doubled down on high-end travel after the pandemic to drive up profits and reduce their vulnerability to economic swings.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. narrowed its profit range for this year, saying the outlook has become more predictable than in the first six months, a period punctuated by flight disruptions, trade tensions and fighting in the Middle East.

PepsiCo jumped 6.6% after delivering revenue and profit that topped Wall Street’s expectations. The drink and snack giant stood by its financial forecasts given in April, which projected lower full-year profit than previous forecasts due to increased costs from tariffs and a pullback in consumer spending.

When an airline makes a mistake, the airline must fix it, not you. And this was quite a mistake, and an insensitive one at that. I can’t even make an international connection in Frankfurt in

United Airlines Holdings Inc. late Wednesday refined its 2025 profit outlook, joining Delta Air Lines Inc. in giving investors some hope for the industry, but a mixed earnings snapshot and lingering macroeconomic concerns left the stock under pressure.

The Nasdaq rose to a record high on Thursday, leading a cautious climb across Wall Street's major indexes, as strong economic data lifted spirits and airline stocks took off on United Airlines' results.

"Economic gravity is ultimately going to win," the United Airlines CEO said in predicting more low-cost airlines will pull back from costly routes like the Bay Area.

United Airlines is permanently axing U.S. domestic bus routes between airports in the coming weeks. The airline will be ending two routes later this summer and in the fall—its Denver to Fort Collins, Colorado, (DEN-FNL) and Newark, New Jersey, to Allentown, Pennsylvania, (EWR-ABE) Landline services.

They splurged, paying $1,153 each, plus $87 for travel insurance, for first class seats on a February United Airlines flight. But the fall before, they heard a few unsettling things about the political climate in the island nation.