American Airlines (AAL) Announces 21-Year Q3 Profit Thanks to Federal Aid

American Airlines on Thursday reported $ 169 million in profit for the third quarter thanks to more than $ 990 million in federal payroll support.

Revenue for the quarter was $ 8.97 billion, which is about 25% less than in the same period in 2019, but more than a year ago, the American earned $ 3.17 billion. This exceeded analysts’ expectations of $ 8.94 billion in sales. Without one-off items such as government payroll support, American’s loss was 99 cents a share, less than analysts’ expectations of $ 1.04 a share.

“While we hate to report losses, it was the smallest quarterly loss since the start of the pandemic,” American CEO Doug Parker and carrier president Robert Isom wrote in a note to employees.

American shares rose 1.2% in morning trading.

In the fourth quarter, American expects its revenue to fall about 20% compared to 2019, when it brought in $ 11.3 billion. It is also reported that its capacity will decrease by 11-13% compared to what it was two years ago.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline predicts pre-tax margins excluding special items in the fourth quarter to range from negative 16% to negative 18%.