United Airlines Holdings Inc. sees profit well above Wall Street’s estimates in the final quarter of the year with travel demand remaining strong, giving shares a lift and easing concerns over high costs and economic volatility.

Earnings will be $2 to $2.25 a share in the period, United said, resuming a quarterly profit forecast that it had suspended early in the pandemic. Analysts projected 96 cents on average, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The carrier joined rival Delta Air Lines Inc. with a robust fourth-quarter outlook as the industry tries to steady itself following an uneven summer travel season. Large companies are resuming lucrative international trips after requiring workers to return to offices, joining leisure travel that already had rebounded. Fares are remaining elevated late in the year.

Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby also pointed to hybrid work arrangements that allow travelers to blend leisure and business trips, a new dynamic that is boosting demand. That’s helping offset any slowdown from the economy, he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

“It’s just a new higher level of demand,” he said. “It doesn’t take out the cyclicality, but it does raise the bar across the board.”

Its shares jumped 7.1% at 9:41 a.m. in New York. Other carriers, including Southwest Airlines Co. and American Airlines Group Inc., also rose.

The Chicago-based carrier said adjusted earnings in the third quarter were $2.81 a share, topping the $2.29 average analyst estimate. Revenue was $12.88 billion, compared with an expected $12.72 billion. Costs to fly each seat a mile rose 14.5%, excluding fuel, below United’s own forecast for a 16% jump.

The results demonstrate “impressive cost management” and strength in fares, Helane Becker, a Cowen analyst, said in a note. “Cost inflation, which has been an ongoing problem for carriers in the last several quarters, appears to be decelerating.”

Margin Guidance

United was the second U.S. carrier to report quarterly results, and will be followed by American on Oct. 20. A group of 11 domestic airlines should report combined operating revenue of $54.5 billion and a net profit of $2.8 billion for the three months that ended Sept. 30, according to Michael Linenberg, a Deutsche Bank analyst.

United stood by guidance that it will have a pretax margin of about 9% for 2023, above the 4.3% expected by analysts. Its adjusted operating margin will exceed 2019 levels for the first time in the fourth quarter.

The carrier will continue to hold flying capacity as much as 10% below 2019 levels amid a pilot shortage that’s keeping some planes grounded at its regional partners. For the full year, capacity will be 13% below pre-pandemic, United said in a filing.