Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg
Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg
American Airlines Group Inc. expects to put most of its fleet back in service in the second quarter, following “recent strength in domestic and short-haul international bookings.”
Falling infections and hospitalizations and rising vaccinations have spurred demand after a blow early this year when the U.S. required negative coronavirus tests for international travelers, American said in a regulatory filing Monday. The seven-day average of net bookings on March 26 was about 90% of the 2019 level and domestic flights are 80% full, the company said.
American’s improved assessment indicated the progress made in recent weeks against a pandemic that caused an unprecedented decline in travel last year. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company projected that bookings strength would continue through the end of the month and into the second quarter, but cautioned that visibility was limited.
The demand outlook for long-haul international flights is also cloudy. Much of Europe is lagging behind the U.S. in vaccine distribution, and some countries have recently imposed more restrictions on movement and gatherings.
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American was little changed at $22.94 at 9:53 a.m. in New York. The shares had climbed 45% this year through March 26, the most on a Standard & Poor’s index of major U.S. carriers.
First-quarter system capacity will be down 40% to 45% from the same period in 2019, American said. That represents a slight improvement from the airline’s previous outlook of down 45%.
— With assistance by Mary Schlangenstein
(Updates shares in fifth paragraph)