American Airlines makes 1.3 billion dollars as travel booms and fuel prices drop

American Airlines is reporting a 1.34 billion-dollar profit for the second quarter, boosted by strong ticket sales and a huge drop in the price of jet fuel.

As a result, the airline has raised its profit expectations for the year.

Revenue rose 5% to a quarterly record of 14.06 billion dollars.

International travel in particular is picking up, and that is helping American Airlines as well as United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

Thanks to lower fuel prices, the carrier’s spending at the pump plunged 32%, saving about 1.3 billion dollars compared with a year earlier.

American Airlines now expects to earn between 3 dollars and 3.75 dollars per share for the year.

Analysts have been projecting 3.12 dollars, according to a FactSet survey.

For the second quarter, excluding one-time items, American earned 1.92 dollars per share, beating the analyst consensus of 1.59 dollars per share.

Revenue also beat Wall Street’s forecast of 13.74 billion dollars.

CEO Robert Isom called it a “fantastic quarter” for the Fort Worth, Texas-based American, and said the airline will focus on profitability and improving its balance sheet, which saw an expansion of debt during the pandemic.