Thanks to an increase in passenger traffic post-pandemic and strong summer, American Airlines is anticipating "better-than-expected" revenue at the end of Q3. The airline will announce the quarterly result on October 20, 2022, but predicted a strong result a week before.
An exceptionally strong summer that drew huge tourist crowds, the lifting of pandemic restrictions, and dwindling COVID-19 numbers have led to a strong recovery for many airlines, including American.
For the third quarter, American expects a revenue jump of 13% compared to the Q3 of 2019, prior to the pandemic. As per the airline, another area that has performed better than in previous years is the total revenue per available seat mile. The airline expects an increase of 25% in revenue. Pre-tax margins are also expected to be better at around 4.5% more than the previously predicted range of 2 to 4%.
Although the airline is expecting a fall of 9.6% in the available seat miles as compared to 2019, there is definitely a positive mark on the business travel front, bringing the recovery of corporate bookings to more than 70% following the drop during the pandemic.
Even though the last few months saw numerous flight cancellations, delays, and increased incidents of baggage mishandling and loss, experts believe that in the coming months the industry will recover quickly and perform better than ever.
Along with American Airlines, other operators like Delta Airlines and United Airlines are also expecting a strong ending to Q3 of 2022, as the passenger demand continues to grow post-pandemic.
American expects to end the third quarter with approximately $14.3 billion in total available liquidity.