American Airlines has reported its first quarterly profit since before the pandemic and expects to remain profitable going forward.
The airline’s immediate outlook is for third quarter revenue to be 10%-12% higher compared to the same period in pre-pandemic 2019 – and that is even with 8%-10% lower capacity.
The carrier generated revenues of $13.4bn in its second quarter; 12.2% up on the same period in 2019. That revenue was also a quarterly record for American.
American now expects to remain profitable in its third quarter on the back of steadily improving demand for air travel, which it also expects to continue – particularly since the Covid testing requirements for inbound travel to the US were lifted.
“We are very pleased to report a quarterly profit, excluding net special items, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, driven by the strong demand environment and the hard work of our team,” said American Airlines chief executive Robert Isom.
“The American Airlines team has stepped up to meet the surge in demand for air travel while running a reliable operation in very challenging conditions. We are encouraged by the trends we’re seeing across the business, and we remain well-positioned for the continued recovery,” he said.
American had total available liquidity of $15.6bn as of the end of its second quarter. Debt reduction remains a company priority and American said it is on course to reduce overall debt by $15bn by the end of 2005.
