American Airlines has its best quarter of revenue ever, but profit is down from 2019

American Airlines reported $13.4b in revenue in the three months that ended in June, the best quarter in the company’s history. But as with other carriers, soaring costs offset that good news. While revenue was up about 12% from the same period in 2019, American said Thursday that its second-quarter profit was $476m, down about 28% from the same quarter in 2019. Airlines have struggled to capitalize on the strong travel rebound because of staffing shortfalls, high costs and other challenges. American canceled about 5% of its scheduled flights last month, more than any other major carrier, according to FlightAware, an aviation data provider. “Achieving these results wasn’t easy,” American’s chief executive, Robert Isom, said in a message to employees. “The operating environment this quarter was tough, especially on the weather front. We encountered significant weather on 27 of the 30 days in June.” Still, Isom said the airline was optimistic about the months ahead, as international and corporate travel, two lucrative parts of the business, continue to recover. The airline said it flew more passengers traveling for leisure within the United States in Q2 this year than in the same period in 2019. American said it expected to be profitable again in Q3, which ends in September. The airline predicted that revenue in that quarter would be up at least 10% from 2019, despite capacity being down at least 8%.<br/>