American Airlines Expects Irma Will Be Short-Term Blip on Revenues
Skift Take
Airlines might have some trouble in the Caribbean longer term, but Florida should bounce back relatively quickly. That's good news for American and other U.S. airlines.
American Airlines, one of the strongest U.S carriers in Florida and the Caribbean, calculates it will take a short-term revenue hit from Hurricane Irma but expects business soon will return, CEO Doug Parker said Wednesday at an industry conference.
American reopened its Miami hub Tuesday, and so far it has prioritized flying to its other hubs, where passengers hop on another plane to their destination. By Saturday or Sunday, Parker said, American should fly its usual schedule of about 340 departures. That's more than any other airline operates from any Florida airport.
In the short term, American will lose revenue because of the storm. American said Tuesday it had canceled more than 5,000 flights from 40 airports because of Irma,