American Airlines' corporate business had its strongest quarterly
year-over-year growth rate in two years in the final quarter of 2017,
executives said in the carrier’s earnings call.
Operating revenue in the fourth quarter increased 8.3
percent year over year to $10.6 billion; both mainline and regional passenger
revenue increased about 8 percent. American reported strong close-in demand and
yields up across all geographic regions, particularly on transatlantic routes,
which were up 11 percent. "We had another quarter of strong performance in
the corporate segment, and our outlook remains positive as our sales
investments and initiatives continue to take hold," American Airlines
president Robert Isom said.
For the full year, the carrier's sales efforts brought in
about 24,000 new small and midsize corporate accounts, he said.
Traffic in the fourth quarter rise 3.3 percent year over
year as capacity increased 2.4 percent. Load factor increased 0.7 percentage
points to 82.8 percent.
American Airlines reported a net income of $258 million for
the quarter, down from $289 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. Operating
expenses rose 9.8 percent year over year, including a 23.5 percent increase in
fuel costs and a 7 percent increase in salaries and benefits.
For the full year, American reported a net income of $1.92
billion, down 28.3 percent year over year.
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