American Airlines posts $2.1b net loss in Q2

American Airlines on Thursday posted a net loss of $2.1b in Q2, the latest carrier to outline the financial damage to travel demand from the coronavirus pandemic. Revenue dropped more than 86% in the quarter to $1.6b from close to $12b a year earlier. The stock rose 0.5% in premarket trading. American has restored more capacity than some of its large competitors like Delta or United as it aimed to capitalize on an uptick in air travel demand that bottomed in April. The airline did slash its daily cash burn rate from $100m a day in April to $30m a day in June after it cut flights and idled planes and thousands of employees took voluntary time off. “We have moved swiftly to improve our liquidity, conserve cash and ensure customers are safe when they travel,” CEO Doug Parker said. “There is much uncertainty ahead, but we remain confident we will emerge from this crisis more agile and more efficient than ever before.” American said it expects its capacity in the third quarter to be down 60% from last year. “The current environment is more unpredictable and more volatile than anything we ever could have imagined,” Parker and the airline’s president Robert Isom, said in an employee note. On an adjusted per-share basis, American posted a loss of $7.82, slightly more than analysts were expecting.<br/>