American Airlines has announced its fourth quarter and full year 2022 financial results, which are big developments for the airline.
The airline says it beat estimates laid out for its earnings this thanks to strong demand. American Airlines experienced record fourth-quarter revenue of USD 13.2 billion. This represents a 16.6% increase over the pre-pandemic period (2019). However, the airline also flew at 6.1% less capacity than that year.
American Airlines said it also ended 2022 with USD 12 billion in available liquidity. This came after they pre-paid a loan during the last quarter.
For 2022, passenger revenue sat at USD 44.6 billion, cargo revenue at USD 1.2 billion and other revenues at USD 3.2 billion, resulting in total operating revenues of USD 49 billion. Meanwhile, total operating expenses sat at USD 47.4 billion. Operating costs were spurred on by increased fuel prices and other fees incurred.
We committed to running a reliable operation and returning to profitability, and our team is delivering on both. We’re proud to have led the industry in operational performance over the holidays while producing record full-year and fourth-quarter revenues, resulting in a third consecutive quarterly profit and a profit for the full year. As we turn our attention to 2023, we will continue to prioritize reliability, profitability and debt reduction.
American’s CEO Robert Isom
American Airlines said that it operated 475,000 flights during the fourth quarter and reported load factors of 83.9% across its services. In a period plagued with storms and travel issues, American Airlines ranked first in completion factor among the nine largest U.S carriers.
Grate. Job. But don’t for get about the people on the ramp.
A big reason why US carriers are reporting high profits is because, unlike Europe or Asia, the US and Canada don’t have HSR which means that US or Canadian citizens don’t have an alternative to flying bar driving. Great to see American recover but personally, I prefer Delta or United.