United Airlines, which for decades epitomised the US airline industry’s obsession with massive airport hubs, route networks reaching every corner of the planet and fleets of gleaming new aircraft, has lost its appetite for world domination.

Subdued by a protracted period in bankruptcy, the fluctuating price of jet fuel and a steep downturn in demand for air travel, the Chicago-based carrier has set its sights on a more modest – though, for an airline in the current economic climate, perhaps no less elusive – goal: consistently turning a profit.