American Airlines Sees More Premium Demand, but Expects Fuel Prices to Hit Profits
Photo Credit: Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines, at the 2024 Skift Aviation Forum. Skift
Skift Take
American CEO Robert Isom said the carrier would have probably had a profitable first quarter if it weren’t for high fuel prices.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said Tuesday that the carrier was seeing strong premium demand, forecasting a 10% increase — around $1.3 billion — in additional revenue for the first quarter.
“The fundamentals are moving in the right direction,” Isom said at the JPMorgan Industrials Conference.
He added that American’s commercial initiatives such as focusing more on premium products and improving its distribution strategy have driven much of that revenue growth.
“We're seeing that 2026 will be a year where we can really build momentum and build back share,” Isom said.
But Isom said American expects first-quarter earnings to end up in the lower end of its forecast due to high fuel costs. Jet fuel spot prices are at $3.78 a gallon, according to Airlines for America — a sha
