American Airlines expects to return to profit in early summer as part of a rebound from two years of Covid constraints.
The projection came as the carrier reported first quarter revenues of $8.9 billion, representing a recovery to 84% of the level achieved in the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.
American made a net loss of $1.6 billion for the three months to March 31.
However, the airline was profitable in March and expects the trend to continue into the current quarter based on current demand and fuel price forecasts.
The airline achieved record sales in March – the first month since the onset of the pandemic that total revenue was above 2019 levels.
Passenger carryings in the first quarter were up 76% year-on-year to 42.7 million while staff numbers increased by 12% to 127,000.
This came as demand for domestic business travel in the US steadily improved as offices reopened and travel restrictions have been lifted.
The airline added: “Revenue from small- to medium-size businesses and customers travelling for a mix of business and leisure remains very strong and is approaching a full recovery, and corporate bookings are the highest they have been since the start of the pandemic.
“Demand for international travel has also picked up considerably as travel restrictions have been lifted in certain parts of the world.”
American has 12,000 more staff in place to support the operation this summer than last year as it expects to run an average of more than 5,800 peak daily departures.
Chief executive Robert Isom said: “Our priorities for this year are clear: run a reliable operation and return to profitability.
“The outstanding progress we’ve made is only possible because of the amazing efforts of the American Airlines team and we’re optimistic about the continued recovery in the second quarter and beyond.
“The demand environment is very strong, and as a result, we expect to be profitable in the second quarter based on our current fuel price assumptions.
“The work we have accomplished over the past two years – simplifying our fleet, modernising our facilities, fine-tuning our network, developing new partnerships, rolling out new tools for customers and team members, and hiring thousands of new team members – has us very well-positioned as the industry continues to rebound.”
The company is continuing on its plan to pay down $15 billion of debt by the end of 2025 after ending the first quarter with $15.5 billion of total available liquidity.
Meanwhile, the Global Business Travel Association reported a double digit surge in recovery in February.
Chief executive Suzanne Neufang said: “We’re seeing significant gains in the return of business travel, especially over the past month or two.”
The association’s global data shows more companies are allowing domestic and also international employee travel.
Neufang added: “Booking levels and travel spending continue to return, and there’s high levels of optimism and employee willingness to travel for business.
“This comes even as the industry faces challenges beyond Covid-19 including rising fuel prices, inflation, supply chain disruption and war in Ukraine.”