© Archyde.com/CHRIS HELGREN
FILE IMAGE. An American Eagle aircraft, a regional brand of American Airlines (AA), takes off at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, USA
Por Rajesh Kumar Singh y Abhijith Ganapavaram
Jan 20 (Archyde.com) – American Airlines Group Inc reported smaller fourth-quarter losses on Thursday, helped by strong travel demand during the holiday season.
US airlines benefited from the millions of Americans who flew in November and December. The Transportation Security Administration screened nearly 21 million travelers during the Thanksgiving holiday period.
Demand on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve was also strong, although mass flight cancellations towards the end of the year due to rising COVID-19 cases and inclement weather meant airlines were unable to take full advantage of that demand.
American said domestic leisure and short-distance international traffic are approaching their 2019 levels, but international long-distance demand remains challenging.
Domestic business travel, which represented 30% of the company’s passenger revenue in 2019, recovered in the last quarter to close to 70% of the pre-pandemic level.
American said, however, that volatility in travel demand from new strains of COVID-19 has created “the most challenging planning environment in commercial aviation history.”
The company plans to adjust its capacity to booking trends. It expects its capacity in the quarter through March to be down 8-10% compared to the same period in 2019. Full-year capacity is projected to be 5% lower than in the year before the pandemic.
Its revenue in the current quarter is estimated to be down 20-22% compared to the first quarter of 2019 due to the impact of the omicron variant of the coronavirus on demand in the first two months of the quarter. Shares of the company were up about 2% at $17.72.
(Edited in Spanish by Carlos Serrano)