American Airlines recorded a first-quarter profit for the first time in four years, CEO Robert Isom told investors Thursday.
The Fort Worth carrier produced a record $12.2 billion revenue, a 37% year-over-year increase. The bulk of that came from passenger revenue at $11.1 billion.
“American is off to a fantastic start in 2023,” Isom said. “This year, we remain focused on reliability profitability, strengthening our balance sheet and holding ourselves accountable along the way.”
Isom said the company is pleased with its domestic and short-haul international performance, noticing demand for long-haul international travel. He said the company is on its way to a “fully recovered business” but isn’t there yet.
Devon May, chief financial officer at American Airlines, said there was “no real surprise in the first quarter.”
“For the second quarter, we expect to do the same thing, run a great operation and take care of our customers,” May told The Dallas Morning News. “Our financial results will be stronger in the second quarter than they were in the first quarter, largely due to just the seasonality of demand, but also just a continued strong demand environment.”
American and its regional partners operated more than 476,000 flights in the first quarter, with about 48 million customers.
The carrier will also make a profit-sharing payment to its team members for the first time in three years. The company has accrued about $211 million to its profit-sharing pool and will be paid to team members in May.
Meanwhile, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines’ December cancellation meltdown cost the carrier another $325 million. That brings the financial toll of the meltdown to more than $1.1 billion, more than twice as much as the company’s profit in 2022.
At American, Isom told investors that despite January’s nationwide ground stoppage and several weather-related events, the carrier continues to deliver strong performance.
“A strong operational performance is driven by our team’s focus on running a safe and reliable airline and taking care of what we can control,” Isom said.
Going into the summer, American is seeing “strong demand,” Isom told investors.
“If there’s one thing that the pandemic has taught us, is that people innately desire to travel,” Isom said.
