United Airlines (UAL) is set to report its third-quarter earnings results after the closing bell today. It is the second airline to report earnings this season after Delta (DAL) missed expectations last week. Tom Fitzgerald, TD Cowen vice president of equity research, joins Morning Brief to discuss the state of the airline industry and what investors can expect from United's earnings report.

As many airlines face price challenges, Fitzgerald believes United is "still very well positioned" as low-cost carriers pull back in major markets. He adds that United has seen a lot of success in rolling out its basic economy offering and segmenting its revenue. "So we can continue to expect them to take share and really attack as the competitors leave some of these markets," he explains.

Fitzgerald also points to lower fuel prices as a tailwind for airlines this quarter. "This is a unique environment where fuel is going down but industry capacity has rationalized so much that we're actually seeing prices firm up since late August or early September. That's very rare for airlines," he adds.

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This post was written by Melanie Riehl