American Airlines reports huge loss for third quarter

American Airlines has reported third-quarter revenue of $3.2 billion, down 73 per cent year-over-year on a 59 per cent year-over-year reduction in total available seat miles.

The US giant confirmed a pre-tax loss of $3.1 billion for the three-month period. Excluding net special items, the third-quarter pre-tax loss stood at $3.6 billion.

“During the third quarter, we took action to reduce our costs, strengthen our financial position, and ensure our customers return to travel with confidence,” said American Airlines chief executive, Doug Parker.

“The American Airlines team is doing a remarkable job taking care of our customers and each other during the most challenging time in our industry’s history.”

He added: “We have a long road ahead and our team remains fully engaged and focused not just on managing through the pandemic, but on making sure we are prepared for when demand returns.

“We are confident that the continued efforts of our team and the actions we have taken will drive customer confidence and strengthen our company for the future.”

American ended the third quarter with approximately $13.6 billion of total available liquidity. In addition, in October, the company increased its loan capacity by $2 billion through the Cares Act loan program to $7.5 billion. With this increase, the third-quarter pro forma liquidity balance at American was approximately $15.6 billion.

The carrier added it has seen improvements in passenger demand and load factors during the third quarter, but both continue to be significantly below 2019 levels.

The company will continue to match its forward capacity with observed bookings trends and currently expects its fourth-quarter system capacity to be down more than 50 per cent year-over-year, with long-haul international capacity down approximately 75 per cent over the next three months when compared to 2019.