American Airlines' operating revenue decreased 1.1 percent
year to $10.6 billion in the third quarter, though executives said corporate
passenger demand is "holding up."
Both absolute revenue and revenue share from corporate
business increased during the quarter, American Airlines president Robert Isom
said during an earnings call. Domestic business is driving that growth, he
said.
Overall, the quarter was one of "operational and
commercial challenges" for American, Isom said. Those included relentless
inclement weather over the carrier's Dallas hub and disruptions out of Los
Angeles caused by "airport and facility constraints," he said.
Operational performance rebounded in September.
CEO Doug Parker added that consolidation of American's flight
operating system with the US Airways system this month was flawless. "This
is an extremely complicated integration that has led to operational disruptions
of other airlines as they've gone through mergers, and our team executed it
without a hitch," Parker said.
During the quarter, consolidated mainline and regional traffic
decreased 1.6 percent year over year and capacity increased 1.2 percent. The
carrier's load factor decreased 2.3 percentage points to 83.3 percent, and
yield declined 0.6 percent.
American
reported a net income of $737 million in the quarter, down from $1.7 billion in
the third quarter of 2015.