American, Southwest Airlines Remain Optimistic for Recovery Despite 3Q Losses

American Airlines and Southwest Airlines reported heavy losses during the third quarter, but said leisure bookings are showing signs of recovery.

According to Reuters.com, officials from American and Southwest revealed during respective quarterly earnings calls that while more travelers are taking to the skies, the situation would remain fluid until a COVID-19 vaccine is available to the general public.

American posted a net loss of $2.40 billion in the third quarter, a massive drop from the profit of $425 million earned during the same period last year and the third-straight quarterly loss.

As for Southwest, the airline said it lost around $16 million per day in the third quarter, which was down from the $23 million lost per day in the second quarter. Company executives said losses are expected to drop to about $11 million per day in the fourth quarter.

The continued year-over-year devastation caused by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak has pushed carriers to renew calls for another $25 billion in government payroll support to protect jobs.

In an effort to increase sales, Southwest plans to once again sell middle seats in December after research and testing showed the combination of air filtration and face masks makes “the risk of breathing COVID-19 particles on an airplane virtually non-existent.”

American has been selling all of its available seats for months.

Carriers around the U.S. have started reducing service for November, as American cut 86,000 flights (around 46 percent) from its schedule for the month. United Airlines also made cuts and reduced the number of flights for November by 52 percent, while Delta Air Lines and Southwest announced similar changes.