American Airlines posted its first quarterly profit since the pandemic started without government aid but joined competitors in scaling back growth plans after a host of disruptions this year.
American posted a second-quarter profit of $476 million, up from $19 million a year earlier, though the airline was still benefiting from federal coronavirus payroll support last year.
Second-quarter revenue of $13.4 billion was up 12% from before the pandemic, even though American flew 8.5% less than the same period of 2019, the airline said.
American has been more aggressive than rivals United and Delta in restoring capacity, but American’s CEO said the carrier would limit its expansion this year.
“As we look to the rest of the year, we have taken proactive steps to build additional buffer into our schedule and will continue to limit capacity to the resources we have and the operating conditions we face,” CEO Robert Isom said in a note to staff.
The airline said it would fly 8% to 10% below 2019 levels in the third quarter but said revenue would be up as much as 12% from three years earlier as high fares continue into the summer.
