American Airlines on Pace for Record Annual Profit

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Published: March 7, 2014 11:15 am

Less than three months after its rebirth, American Airlines Group Inc. (NYSE: AAL) is on pace for a record annual profit, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The consensus estimate of $3.5 billion would put it ahead of the $2.2 billion tally for Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) and the $1.7 billion for United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL).

American CEO Doug Parker sees $1 billion in new revenue and savings by 2015, which would also put the airline ahead of its merger-built rivals. Neither Delta nor United reached $1 billion in new revenue and savings until the second full year of their mergers.

The previous industry record was Delta’s $2.7 billion profit in 2013. The new American emerged from bankruptcy and the merger of AMR and U.S. Airways Group on Dec. 9. The two airlines are working quickly to mesh operations, and the company hopes to have federal approval to operate as a single carrier in the second half of 2015.

Not everything is going absolutely smoothly. Earlier this week U.S. Airway pilots sued their American Airlines counterparts over seniority rights.

But investors are please thus far. American Airlines shares are up about 57.7% since the IPO and reached a new high of $39.33 Thursday. The stock has outperformed both Delta and United in that time.

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