American Airlines’ Q4 profit beat analysts’ expectations as strong travel demand and high fares buoyed results during a turbulent holiday season. Here’s how American Airlines performed in Q4 compared with what Wall Street anticipated, based on an average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Refinitiv: * Adjusted earnings per share: $1.17 versus an expected $1.14 * Total revenue: $13.19b versus expected $13.20b For the three months ended Dec. 31, the company reported net income of $803m, or $1.14 per share, unadjusted — a stark improvement from a loss of $931m, or $1.44 per share, during the same period a year earlier. Quarterly revenue of $13.19b was up 16.6% from the same period in 2019, before the Covid pandemic stymied travel. American earlier this month raised its revenue and profit estimates for its Q4. American raked in that record Q4 revenue despite operating 6.1% less capacity, suggesting flyers keep paying up for seats. For the full year, American reported $127m in net income. It was the first full-year profit for the carrier since 2019, CEO Robert Isom said in a message to employees Thursday morning. The company paid an average of $3.50 per gallon of fuel in the fourth quarter, up 48% from last year. It expects that cost to come down to somewhere between $3.33 and $3.38 per gallon as it heads into its first quarter of 2023. Based on those cost estimates and where demand is going, American said it expects capacity to be 8% to 10% higher than Q1 2022 and projects that it will break even on earnings per share.<br/>
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Alaska Air Group generated record full-year operating revenue of $9.65b in 2022 and a profit of $58m for the year. While the profit was down on the $478m the group made in 2021, the latter figure included $914m in state payroll support – without which Alaska would have been in the red. The company delivered a 2022 profit despite logging nearly $500m in costs relating to its accelerated fleet transition – the airline has been removing Airbus narrowbodies and De Havilland Dash 8s from service – and $84m in one-off labour expenses. The full-year performance was supported by a $22m profit for the fourth quarter, on revenue of $2.5b, which was up 30% year on year and 11% higher than in pre-pandemic 2019. Alaska’s full-year 2022 revenue was 60% higher than in 2021. It was 10% more than in 2019 and achieved on 9% less capacity than in 2019, reflecting strong yields. Alaska Airlines CE Ben Minicucci says: ”2022 was a year of significant recovery and accomplishment for Alaska Airlines. Despite many challenges during the year, we ran one of the best operations, signed five new labour deals and executed the majority of our… fleet transition. Our 7.6% full-year adjusted pre-tax margin led the industry, proving that our business model is resilient,” he adds, speaking on a full-year results call on 26 January. For the year ahead, Minicucci says Alaska targets achieving an adjusted pre-tax margin of 9-12% and has set an earnings guide of between $5.50 and $7.50 per share. “Delivering on these targets will be challenging and will require us to leverage our competitive strengths,” he says.<br/>
Japan Airlines Innovation Fund, the venture arm of the Japanese carrier, has invested in start-up sea-glider developer Regent Craft. The companies on 26 January disclosed the funding, with the US firm saying it is its largest overseas investment to date. Regent did not disclose the investment amount but the company says it has raised over $40m to develop its craft. “This is a really big step for us to have Japan Airlines on board,” Regent CE Billy Thalheimer tells FlightGlobal. “We’re seeing aviation companies lean in [to] this space where… some people initially had doubts [if] maybe a maritime-based vehicle would even be interesting to consider for an airline.” But numerous air transport companies have come around. “We’re seeing this growing use case for certified maritime-based vehicles from aviation authorities and aviation operators,” Thalheimer says. Airlines are beginning to think about how to get customers from door to door, he says, not just from airport to airport. “We’re starting to see a shift into this true multi-modal thinking,” he adds. “That’s a really exciting space for Regent to be playing in, and really exciting that we’re starting to see the market traction and validation with Japan Airlines.” Yasushi Noda, executive officer and senior vice-president of digital innovation at Japan Airlines, adds: “We believe sea gliders are a safe, sustainable and economical solution, and we are excited to work with Regent to assess demand not only in Japan but around the world.”<br/>