American Airlines has posted a third-quarter net loss of $114 million, despite achieving a record third-quarter revenue of $13.7bn.
Passenger revenue came in at $12.5bn, cargo revenue came in at $212m, and other revenue came in at $1bn.
The airline delivered a third-quarter loss of $0.17 per share, though it guided fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to be in the range of $0.45 to $0.75, and full-year adjusted EPS to be in the range of $0.65 to $0.95.
If American delivers on these projections, it stands to raise more than $1bn in free cash flow for the year.
The airline ended the third quarter with $36.8bn of total debt and $29.9bn of net debt, noting that it remains “on track” to reduce its total debt to less than $35bn by the end of 2027.
It also ended the quarter with $10.3 billion of total available liquidity, comprised of cash and short-term investments plus undrawn capacity under revolving credit and other facilities.
Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines, said the airline now has a “strong foundation” with “best-in-class” cost management, and is continually strengthening its balance sheet.
“Looking forward, I’m confident that continued investments in our network, customer experience and loyalty programme will position us well to drive revenue growth and shareholder value in 2026 and beyond,” he said.
Year-over-year unit revenues improved sequentially throughout the quarter, with September producing positive unit revenue growth, though the airline lost money in every region during the quarter.
Premium unit revenue growth year over year continued to outperform the main cabin, outpacing it by five percentage points during the third quarter.
American sees the premium unit as its most significant potential revenue opportunity, to be unlocked by increasing capacity across its hubs, expanding its network, and scaling its new exclusive partnership with Citi.
In January 2026, Citi will become the sole issuer of the American Airlines' AAdvantage co-branded credit card, following its acquisition of the airline’s co-branded card portfolio with Barclays.
American said it continues to see “strong engagement” with its AAdvantage loyalty programme, with active accounts up 7% year over year during the third quarter, and active accounts in Chicago - its largest hub - up 20% year over year.
During the third quarter, spending on co-branded credit cards increased 9% year over year.
“This year our growth was focused on Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York,” said Isom. “Our improved schedules, combined with our new sales and distribution strategy, and other product improvements, are helping us win local, high-value customers.
“Performance continues to track in line with our expectations. This targeted expansion will continue to the fourth quarter and into 2026, as we add more cities and more cities to improve our offering for customers."
The CEO added that American will focus on expanding its capacity by acquiring new aircraft and retrofitting aircraft within its current fleet.
During an investor call, the airline drew attention to its new premium Flagship Suite launched on its Boeing 787-9 aircraft, which will soon be expanded to the A321XLR
In addition, the airline announced a new retrofit of 20 Boeing 777-300 aircraft, increasing premium seats on these aircraft by over 20%.
American will continue to expand its premium offerings across its Boeing 777-200 aircraft. These aircraft, which will be receiving a “nose-to-tail” retrofit, will see a 25% in lie-flat and premium economy seats.
The airline is aiming to expand its premium capacity at almost two times the rate of its main cabin, and to increase its lie-flat seats by more than 50% by the end of the decade.
In the domestic market, American will also expand the premium capacity of its A319s and A320s, whose first class seating will grow 50% and 33% respectively.
“With these investments in our existing fleet, along with our existing fleet, our premium seat growth will outpace our non-premium offerings,” the company said.
American’s total capital expenditures in 2025 are expected to be approximately $3.8bn, which includes the delivery of 51 new aircraft.
Finally, American announced that it has appointed Nat Pieper as chief commercial officer, effective November 3, 2025.
Pieper joins American after serving as oneworld CEO since April 2024.
Alongside Pieper’s appointment, Steve Johnson will return to his previous roles of vice chair and chief strategy officer.
Prior to Pieper’s appointment, Johnson served as interim chief commercial officer, helping to “stabilise” and “re-energise” the airline’s commercial operations, according to CEO Isom.