American Airlines Group Inc. reported its third-quarter 2026 financial results on 22 October, citing execution of its commercial strategy and long-term investment in customers, team members, network, fleet and technology, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier said. Total revenue reached $16.3 billion, up 19.3% year over year and above the high end of its previously announced guidance range, with CASM-ex, a unit cost measure excluding fuel and special items, up 3.0%, which the company said was the best unit cost performance among the network carriers.

Fuel expense for the quarter increased $1.9 billion, or 67.5%, year over year, driving a GAAP net loss of $269 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, and an adjusted net loss of $182 million, or $0.28 per diluted share; American said the adjusted net loss was only $71 million below the same quarter of 2025 despite the fuel increase.

“American delivered record third-quarter revenue and the strongest year-over-year revenue growth in my career, with premium performance leading the way,” said American’s CEO Robert Isom. “The investments we are making across the four pillars of our commercial strategy are working, and we expect another quarter of record revenue growth to close out the year. While historically high fuel prices significantly impacted our financial results, our focus remains on restoring profitability and building a stronger American for the long term. I’m grateful to the American Airlines team for making this progress possible.”

Revenue performance was broad-based: premium revenue increased 22.9% and Main Cabin revenue 19.5% year over year, total unit revenue rose 14.5%, domestic passenger unit revenue rose 13.6%, and international passenger unit revenue rose 16.4%, led by a 21.1% increase in the Latin America entity. AAdvantage enrolments rose 27.4% year over year, and managed corporate revenue grew 27.6%, the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.

COMMERCIAL STRATEGY AND COST PERFORMANCE

The results were driven by American’s four commercial pillars: elevating the customer experience, growing the global network, driving premium revenue and leading in loyalty. On connectivity, the airline is expanding Starlink Wi-Fi installation to its entire mainline fleet, more than 1,000 aircraft, after announcing a 500-aircraft rollout in May, and continues to expand its Admirals Club and premium lounge network and extend seatback entertainment to narrowbody aircraft. Premium passenger unit revenue rose 18.5% year over year, and American expects premium seating on narrowbody aircraft to rise to 40% through its retrofit programme, from roughly 30% of seats today.

“We remain focused on the factors that drive the most value,” said American’s Chief Financial Officer Devon May. “Our long-term focus on efficiency supported industry-leading unit cost results in the quarter, with CASM-ex increasing 3.0% year over year. For the full year, we expect to lead the network carriers in the spread between year-over-year unit revenue and CASM-ex growth.”

American paid an average of $3.85 per gallon for fuel in the third quarter. The company expects to achieve nearly $1 billion in annual run-rate savings and more than $900 million in working capital improvements by the end of 2026 through its multiyear reengineering programme, and ended the quarter with $11.8 billion of total available liquidity and more than $26 billion of unencumbered assets and first-lien capacity.

OUTLOOK

American expects fourth-quarter revenue growth of between 19.5% and 22.5% year over year. Based on the forward fuel curve as of 19 October, the airline anticipates an average fuel price of approximately $4.70 per gallon, nearly double the price paid in the fourth quarter of 2025, adding an estimated $2.8 billion to fuel expense; American said network growth in 2027 is expected to slow from 2026 levels as a result. The airline’s full-year guidance also includes available seat mile growth of 5.5% to 6.5% and CASM-ex growth of 2.5% to 3.5%.