Skift Take
American likes to tout its strengths from more flights and a broader domestic network when it talks about the recovery. But with higher costs than competitors, it will continue to lag its peers even as some forecast profits in the coming months.
American Airlines epitomizes the U.S. travel recovery. The airline has come back faster than anyone expected a year ago carrying more passengers and generating more revenue than any other in the second quarter, and is on track to do so again in the months ahead.
Nearly 85 percent of the seats on American's more than 426,000 domestic flights were filled in the June quarter — better than at both Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. That's a lot of full flights to places like Fort Myers with its sunny beaches and Missoula with its mountain vistas. Travelers took advantage of the carrier's robust flight schedule and travel options for their — mostly — leisure trips.
But despite its lead, the largest U.S. carrier has an achilles heel: costs. American has more debt to service and generally higher unit costs, including labor agreements, than its main competitors, Delta and United.
This adversely affects its profitability, both before the crisis and today. This structural difference — and one the airline is actively working to close — is the main reason why analysts believe American did not join Delta and United in forecasting profits excluding the benefits of federal aid in the September quarter.
“We expect our losses too narrow even more in the third quarter as we march back to sustained profitability," American CEO Doug Parker said during the airline's second quarter earnings call on Thursday. Executives would not go so far as to promise revenues that exceed 2019 levels, let alone profitability, in 2022 when asked by analysts.
Despite lagging on profitability, the overall the pi
