Corporate revenue continues to increase for American Airlines, which on Thursday reported that third-quarter managed corporate segment revenue was up 28 percent year over year.
"It was our sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth," American chief commercial officer Nat Pieper said on a Thursday morning earnings call.
In addition, travel management company revenue was up 27 percent year over year, and "our small and medium business performance, what we call AAdvantage Business, was up 46 percent," Pieper said. "Yields on all of those three channels are really attractive, and we're pleased with our performance there."
Still, premium leisure also plays an important part of the front-cabin mix.
"From a premium perspective, I see great things in terms of dynamics," American CEO Robert Isom said. "In the past, that would have all been a corporate-related trend, but now there is so much leisure premium driving that, it's almost 65 percent of our premium business now."
Higher airfares over the quarter and throughout the year, spurred by passing along higher fuel costs, contributed to increased revenue. According to Airlines Reporting Corp.'s latest monthly report, the average price in September for a U.S. domestic roundtrip ticket was $669, up from $624 in August and $558 from September 2025. This figure also was the highest since the pandemic. But Isom, echoing other airline CEO comments made in recent weeks, still sees value in the industry.
"In this environment, profitability for all carriers is under pressure," Isom said. "In terms of value that is out there, we're just now getting back to airfares on an inflation-adjusted basis where they were in 2019 and 2014. We know there is value in the product today, and in terms of the ability to hold on to that and push it further, the fuel-price increase we've experienced has just been a catalyst to allow us to realize that there is value."
American Q3 Metrics
American third-quarter passenger revenue was up 19.5 percent year over year to $14.9 billion, with total revenue increasing 19.3 percent to $16.3 billion. The total revenue growth rate was the highest in company history excluding the years following the pandemic, according to the carrier.
Despite the record revenue growth, American reported a net loss of $269 million compared with a net loss of $114 million a year prior.
"Higher fuel added $1.9 billion to our costs in the third quarter," Isom said. "We produced a loss in the quarter that but for this fuel spike would have been solidly profitable."
Third-quarter capacity increased 4.2 percent year over year. The average price of fuel was $3.85 per gallon compared with $2.37 per gallon in Q3 2025.
American projects fourth-quarter revenue to increase 19.5 percent to 22.5 percent year over year, with capacity expected to be up 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent.
"Fuel will remain a significant headwind in the fourth quarter," CFO Devon May said, adding that the carrier expects the Q4 average price of fuel to be $4.70 per gallon, with total fuel expense projected to be $2.8 billion higher than Q4 2025. May also said the projected full-year fuel expense will be $7 billion higher compared with 2025.
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