An American Airlines 777-300ER
American Airlines Group, the world’s largest airline, announced financial results for 2013 as well as for the fourth quarter. American merged with US Airways on December 9, 2013.
When reported as if the two airlines had been combined for the entire quarter, the Dallas-based carrier posted a profit of $436 million, excluding one-time charges relating to its reorganization. Revenue for the fourth quarter was $10 billion, an 8.7% increase.
Combined revenue for 2013 was $40.4 billion, a 4.7% increase from 2012. The company reported a net loss of $1.8 billion, which includes $3.1 billion of charges connected to its reorganization. Excluding special charges, net income was $1.9 billion, versus $407 million in 2012.
For the year’s final quarter, the company reported that operating expenses rose 7% on a combined basis, but fuel costs – the airline’s biggest expense – fell by 1.7%. Yield, which measures the average passenger fare, was up by 5.3% and passenger revenue per available seat mile, a key industry performance metric, grew by 5% in the fourth quarter.
For the year, the combined load factor, which measures how full the planes were, was 82.9%, compared to 82.4% in 2012.
“These financial results are evidence of the strong foundation we have in place and we anticipate improving upon these results as we further integrate our operations in 2014,” said Doug Parker, the airline’s CEO, in a statement.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)