American sees ‘slight’ second-quarter profit as airlines rebound

American Airlines Group Inc. expects to post a “slight” pretax profit when it reports earnings next week, the latest sign of a rebound in U.S. travel.

Pretax profit margins excluding special items will be better than expected thanks to cost controls and rising demand for flights, American said in a regulatory filing Tuesday. Sales will be down only 37.5% compared with their level two years ago. American had previously predicted a 40% drop from pre-pandemic levels.

“We are clearly moving in the right direction,” Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker and President Robert Isom said in a message to employees. “Our revenue and expense performance in the quarter came in better than expectations, and this was achieved while bringing the operation back up to full capacity and safely transporting a record number of travelers.”

Spurred by vaccination campaigns, lighter government restrictions and pent-up demand from consumers after more than a year of mostly staying close to home, air travel is recovering faster than expected. U.S. airlines are poised to provide more insight into the state of that comeback as most carriers report second-quarter results over the next 10 days, starting Wednesday with Delta Air Lines Inc.

American rose as much as 2.5% to $20.52 after the close of regular trading. The shares have gained about 72% in the last 12 months, the most on an S&P index of major U.S. airlines.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier expects to report a “slight net profit” in the second quarter, including special items, Parker and Isom told employees. In the regulatory filing, American forecast that its net result would range between a $35 million loss and a $25 million profit.