United Airlines Plays Up Its Denver Advantage as Global Routes Suffer

For United Airlines, China is weak, Hong Kong is "terrible," Argentina is "pretty bad," the rest of the world is "between OK and good," and Denver is emerging as the airline's "highest-margin hub," the carrier's president told investment analysts Thursday afternoon. The pockets of international weakness are an annoyance, but should not materially influence earnings, as other regions, including Mexico, Brazil, and the Caribbean have improved, United's Scott Kirby said. United recently said it will  suspend Chicago-Hong Kong and Newark-Buenos Aires. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley 7th Annual Laguna Conference in Dana Point, California, Kirby poked a bit at his predecessors, saying a few years ago that "United would have been missing its numbers and would have been blaming it on China and Hong Kong." But he said the new United, which has bulked up its domestic presence since Kirby joined in August 2016, has enough profitable assets to make up the difference. United has promised i