American Airlines netted a record profit for the second
quarter of 2015 despite a dip in revenues, the carrier reported on Friday.
American reported a net profit of $1.7 billion during the
quarter, nearly double the $864 million profit reported in the second quarter
of 2014. Excluding $150 million in net special charges, largely related to
merger expenses, its profit was $1.9 billion, which chairman and CEO Doug
Parker claimed was “the highest quarterly earnings any commercial airline ever
reported.”
As with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, American’s revenues declined year
over year during the quarter, with mainline passenger revenue down 6.8 percent
to $7.7 billion and total revenues down 4.6 percent to $10.8 billion. Regional
passenger revenue increased 3.1 percent to $1.8 billion. Total expenses declined
10.5 percent, including a 37.3 percent drop in fuel costs and related taxes.
Total capacity increased 1.9 percent during the quarter, and
traffic increased 1.1 percent. American’s load factor declined 0.7 percentage
points to 83.3 percent.
Passenger revenue per available seat mile declined 6.9
percent year over year, due in part to currency effects from a strong U.S.
dollar and lower international fuel surcharges, American president Scott Kirby
said.
On domestic flights, PRASM declined 5 percent. Despite
“headwinds more challenging than the rest of the system,” Kirby said results at
American’s Dallas hub, which is facing increased competition out of nearby Love
Field, were in line with that figure. Kirby attributed that to the carrier’s
rebanking of its flight schedule there—having flights arrive and depart around the same
time, rather than spread throughout the day—as well as price matching in
markets where low-cost carriers are competing.