American Airlines (AAL) shares powered higher Tuesday after the carrier said it expects third quarter revenues to be firmly higher than pre-pandemic levels, as higher ticket prices look to offset a decline in overall flight capacity.
American said revenues for the three months ending in September likely rose 13% from the same period in 2019 to around $13.5 billion, a firmer tally than its prior forecast of a gain of between 10% and 12%.
Total revenue per available seat mile, a key industry metric, is expected to rise 25% from 2019 levels, offsetting a 9.6% reduction in overall capacity, American Airlines said in an investor update ahead of its formal earnings release on October 20.
American Airlines shares were marked 5.3% higher in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $12.69 each.
Delta Air Lines (DAL) will report third quarter earnings on Thursday, prior to the start of trading, with analysts looking for a bottom line of $1.54 per share on overall revenues of around $12.88 billion.
Last month, rival United Airlines Holdings (UAL) lifted its third quarter revenue growth forecast amid a big decline in jet fuel costs and improving travel demand.
United said it sees third quarter capacity trending "higher than originally expected" at levels that only 10% to 11% lower than in the pre-pandemic period of 2019.
Strong demand and more aggressive pricing, however, will mean operating revenues are likely to be 12% higher than in the third quarter of 2019, United Airlines said.
