DALLAS - American Airlines Group (AA) reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2024, expressing great optimism for the coming months. The airline's focus on operational reliability, cost management, and resetting sales strategy helped it achieve record revenue.

The airline announced revenue of $13.6 billion despite a net loss of $149 million, or $0.23 per share, for the quarter. However, when excluding net special items, the airline achieved a net income of $205 million, or $0.30 per diluted share.

“The American Airlines team continues to focus on running a reliable operation and managing costs across the airline. We have taken aggressive action to reset our sales and distribution strategy and reengage the business travel community, which we’re confident will improve our revenue performance over time.”, said AA’s CEO Robert Isom.

Key Financial and Operational Highlights

The record revenue of $13.6 billion marked a 1.2% year-on-year increase. On a GAAP basis, the company produced an operating margin of 0.7% in the quarter, but when excluding the net special items, the adjusted operating margin rose to 4.7%.

The airlines faced many challenges in the third, including the CrowdStrike outage and Hurricanes Debby and Helene. Despite these disruptions, AA delivered solid operational results, achieving the highest completion factor among U.S. network carriers and the airline’s highest third-quarter load factor since the merger of American and U.S. Airways in 2013.

Furthermore, the airline reduced its total debt by $360 million in Q3 and is on track to reduce debt by $15 billion by the end of 2025. The company ended the quarter with approximately $11.8 billion of total available liquidity, comprised of cash and short-term investments plus undrawn capacity under revolving credit and other facilities.

Looking ahead, American Airlines expects its adjusted earnings per diluted share for 2024 to range between $1.35 and $1.60, showing a positive outlook for the next quarter. The company remains focused on improving its sales and distribution strategy, renegotiating contracts with major travel agencies, and reintroducing perks for corporate travelers.