An American Airlines passenger jet approaches to land at LAX through the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus illness (COVID-19) in Los Angeles, California, April 7, 2021.
Mike Blake | Reuters
American Airlines posted its highest income of the pandemic through the fourth quarter as bookings rose, however it nonetheless reported a loss, because the unfold of the omicron variant harm bookings.
“Over the previous yr, we now have skilled intervals of excessive journey demand countered by intervals of decreased demand as a result of new COVID-19 variants,” American’s CEO Doug Parker, who steps down on the finish of March, mentioned in an earnings launch on Thursday. “This volatility has created probably the most difficult planning atmosphere within the historical past of economic aviation.”
United Airlines on Wednesday and Delta Air Lines final week warned that omicron would delay the journey restoration.
Parker advised CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that bookings for journeys a month or two away are stronger than present ranges and that fares would doubtless rise as enterprise vacationers return.
The yr was difficult for American and different carriers that attempted to ramp up flying however staffing shortages exacerbated routine issues like climate, resulting in tons of of flight cancellations.
American ramped up flight attendant pay for the vacations and provided bonuses to different workers, a measure different airways took as effectively, even earlier than omicron-related staffing shortages appeared across the year-end holidays.
American mentioned it employed 16,000 folks final yr and reiterated its objective to rent 18,000 this yr.
American misplaced $931 million within the fourth quarter on income of $9.43 billion, which was down from $11.3 billion in gross sales within the final three months of 2019, earlier than the pandemic. Adjusting for one-time gadgets, American misplaced $1.42 a share, in contrast with analysts’ estimate of a $1.48 per-share loss.
For the primary quarter, American expects income to be off 20% to 22% from the identical interval of 2019 when it generated $10.6 billion in gross sales. Capacity for the primary three months might be 90% to 92% restored.
Adjusted outcomes per share: a lack of $1.42 versus an anticipated lack of $1.48Total income: $9.43 billion versus anticipated $9.38 billion.
American Airlines executives will focus on outcomes on an 8:30 a.m. ET name Thursday.