American Airlines Eyes Return to Profitability This Spring

American Airlines reported its first-quarter 2022 financial results on Thursday, revealing revenue of $8.9 billion or 84 percent of comparable period revenue in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

The carrier also reported a first-quarter net loss of $1.6 billion or $2.52 per share as the initial weeks and months of the three-month period were hampered by the Omicron variant and winter weather-prompted issues. However, loosening COVID-19 travel restrictions and the resumption of business travel have executives optimistic that the airline will return to profitability as early as the second quarter of 2022.

American produced record sales in March, which was the first month since the onset of the pandemic that total revenue exceeded 2019 levels. What’s more, the airline delivered its best-ever combined mainline and regional completion factor for the month of March.

“Our priorities for this year are clear: Run a reliable operation and return to profitability,” said American’s CEO Robert Isom. “The outstanding progress we’ve made is only possible because of the amazing efforts of the American Airlines team and we’re optimistic about the continued recovery in the second quarter and beyond.”

“The demand environment is very strong, and as a result, we expect to be profitable in the second quarter based on our current fuel price assumptions. The work we have accomplished over the past two years—simplifying our fleet, modernizing our facilities, fine-tuning our network, developing new partnerships, rolling out new tools for customers and team members, and hiring thousands of new team members—has us very well-positioned as the industry continues to rebound,” Isom concluded.

American ended the first quarter with $15.5 billion of total available liquidity and remains on track to pay down approximately $15 billion of debt by the end of 2025.