over to phil lebeau who joins us now with a special guest >> let's bring in united ceo scott kirby joiningted club at the phoenix airport. scott, i know it is early morning there, but you had a chance to get a sense of where the state of the business is over the last three months what is your sense as we head into what might be a second wave of covid-19 building around the country? >> yeah, well, good morning, phil thank you for having me. from the beginning of this crisis, united focused on being realistic about the outlook, going all the way back to the end of february. we thought the possible course -- the trajectory of the virus would play out like it has. and that helped us prepare and went through the second quarter and the third quarter and proud of the united team we led the industry in all the revenue metrics,smallest decline in -- best increase in cargo revenue, smallest decline in loyalty now we're kind of at this point where we think we can see the light at the end of the tunnel it is a long tunnel. it is going to have ups and downs. it is going to take widely available vaccine

scott kirby, ceo of united will be talking not only about the numbers, but also the question what is the path to break even does it happen in the spring, sooner than that a lot of questions in the morning. >> phil, had united given a target like delta had? >> i don't remember a specific target i know they hoped to break even by the end of the year that's what every airline was pushing for, let's get close to even by the end of the year. so i wouldn't be surprised if they didn't say it will be late in the spring or second quarter. that wouldn't surprise me or any analyst. it's not like wait a minute, we don't know when they will get back to even i think that will be one of the focus points of the analyst call tomorrow i think you will see wall street try to pin them down in terms of when they start to break even. >> as soon as delta said push that out, it opened the door for the other airlines to do the same >> we will be listening for that on squawk box. as phil said, everybody expected a terrible quarter what do you do now if you are in these stocks, guy? >> united is interesting th

phil. >> let's bring in scott kirby, the united airlines ceo, he joins us today from the united club airport. scott, thank you for joining us. i'm curious about this testing that you will begin on november 16th now, this is for select number of flights from newark to london, and if people on this flight, they're all going to be tested, if somebody tests positive, are they told, look, you can't get on this flight, what happens then? >> thanks, phil. good morning thanks for having me today we're excited about this new test it's going to last for four weeks. we will test everyone on the airplane over the age of 2 if somebody tests positive that's the protocol we're going to use that person won't be able to get on the airplane, and we're using this to demonstrate the possibility of working out the logistics and opening borders. it's important to be able to open up the world economy. this is going to be with us for a while, and testing is a way where we can both be safe and still open up the world economy. >> now, this is an extension, slightly different but an extension of the program th

we'll be talking with scott kirby at 8:40.t want to miss this interview, not only to talk about these numbers but more importantly, what he's expecting over the next couple of quarters guys, back to you. >> phil lebeau, thank you. with united down a little more than a percent after hours first reaction to those numbers. >>> tonight, don't miss "shephard smith reports: air travel in turmoil," from pilots to airport taxi drivers who are struggling to keep their industry alive that is tonight 8:00 p.m. eastern time. >> up next on this show world bank president david malpass discusses how a potential stimulus deal in washington could impact the global economy. >> as a reminder, watch or listen to us live on the go on 'll cnbc app webe right back on "closing bell." incomparable design makes it beautiful. state of the art technology makes it brilliant. the visionary lexus nx. lease the 2021 nx 300 for $359 a month for 36 months. experience amazing. at your lexus dealer. >>> welcome back disney responding to senator elizabeth warren'

by the way united xi ceo scott kirby will be on "squawk box."nd alcoa improving demand for the auto sector, but warning that aluminum business could face challenges on the cost side and shares of sleep number are rallying the maker of smart beds reporting better than expected third quarter results and fourth quarter guidance they also plan to resume their stock buyback program, shares up nearly 7%. even small businesses that should naturally have some form of social dancing saw an impact from the closures. stu stumpy's hatchet house had to close down but now reopened every one. and while physical safety is always a priority, they had to adjust their spaces with new coronavirus guidelines an training joining us now is kelly, co-owner a pleasure to have you on. i'm glad to hear all your spots are open, you are a new jersey company and expanding and you are in florida, in texas and other parts. let's focus though in the northeast because that is where probably most of our audience is watching right now what is the state of business for you in new j

said sometime in the spring they expect to be at a break even it might be further out according to scott kirbyhe airlines stocks under pressure. next we hear from american and southwest. those are the big earnings reports next week as we continue the look at what the airlines are looking at in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter. >> steph, i know you like the barbell approach does this make it into one end of hat >> no, these are trading vehicles, these stocks the balance sheets, the debt levels are too high. there are so many cyclecals out there that have better balance sheets where they are covering the dividends, buying back stock, increasing the dividends. the only aerostock i have is boeing i think they are going to get the 737 max up in the next couple of months i think that will be sort of a game changer for them in terms of the free cash flow story in the next couple of years but i am not really touching the airlines it is too difficult. >> mike, is there anything the airlines can tell us on these earnings, on these calls are they just trading more broadly on virus developmen

when we talk with ceo, scott kirby tomorrow morning, exclusively on "squawk box," we'll be talking aboutresults but the forecast and the outlook for how those things will go which will be tough for the airline industry and yes, what happens with airline relief talks in washington, guys as you know, that discussion is still there. for these airlines that have already furloughed workers, there will be discussion of bringing these people back in. that's one of the many topics that will come up tomorrow morning. >> they'll speak again on the phone. we'll have to watch. one of those things the market is closely monitoring. >> as we go to break look at shares of concho amid look at shares of concho amid reports co hoping things will pick up by q3. yeah...uh... n ooco wa buy it we'll be back after the break. boss: you alright? [sigh] [ding] never settle with power e*trade. it has powerful, easy-to-use tools to help you find opportunities, 24/7 support when you need answers plus some of the lowest options and futures contract prices around. don't get mad. get e*trade and start trading today. ♪ ♪

prior to the pandemic >> well, you know, possibly 2022 on air travel substitutes, i agree with scott kirbytever business you are in when you learn that you have lost a deal to a competitor that's gotten out there to wine and dine a client and you're sitting at homeworking on the man bun that's the last time you are using zoom and i'll admit this but i went down to spend a day with delta air line management because that's what analysts do. we spend time, make relationships with managements did that fact get under the skin of my competitors? i don't know i hope that it did we absolutely believe that the willingness to travel and conduct business in personthe way it's been done for millennium will return but it will be slow. >> i like that idea that willingness to get on the plane turns into leverage in the american sort of darwinian economy that we have i wonder, what kind of furloughs or layoffs will be realistic over the next 30 days? at a place like southwest, that would be a historic move. >> yeah, it would be and it's hard to assess that number what gives us confidence is that there are

scott kirby that united ceo just last week said he thinks 2024 before you get an airline recovery.elving their bigger planes they are changing routes, replanning routes. i think the whole travel industry is bracing for a longer come back then people expected, so i agree with you. stuart: in which case the whole industry has to shrink. there's no way around it; right? >> no, and it's shrinking anyway, i mean, tens thousands of layoffs in the airline and hotel industry since the stimulus package ended october 1, and they were allowed to lay off. we don't have another bailout package on the table so they will continue to lay people off. there's a good side to that, we are improving efficiency. airlines in the travel industry figured out how to do more with less, so airline ticket prices are down 25% this last month, which isn't great for them, but good for consumers. everyone is slimming down by necessity. stuart: ed-- jeff, i'm sorry to keep this short. we have a busy news day and we always appreciate you being with us. still to come, brad blank then, stephen moore, all on the show c