American Airlines Group Inc. has reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 financial results.
“During the fourth quarter, we made important progress to address the issues that impacted our business in 2019, and, thanks to our incredible team, we ended the year with our strongest operational quarter on record,” said American Airlines Chairman and CEO Doug Parker.
“While our results for the quarter reflect this progress, we know there is more work to be done. Looking to 2020, we are focused on three key areas. First, we will continue to deliver operational excellence and build on our strong fourth-quarter results. Our team has done a tremendous job, and we will keep driving improvement in key operational metrics in the year ahead. Second, we will deliver those results while growing where we have a competitive advantage in our most profitable hubs. And third, these initiatives combined with our capital plan will enable us to drive significant free cash flow in 2020 and beyond.”
Pre-tax earnings were $571 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Pre-tax earnings excluding net special items for the fourth quarter of 2019 were $679 million, a $90 million increase from the fourth quarter of 2018, or 15.1% year-over-year increase from the same period last year.
Continued strength in passenger demand and a record passenger load factor drove a 3.4% year-over-year increase in fourth-quarter 2019 total revenue to a record $11.3 billion. Driven by a 2.4% increase in passenger load factor, passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) grew 0.9% to 14.72 cents, a record for the fourth quarter. Cargo revenue was down 18.3% to $216 million due primarily to a 15.6% decline in cargo volume. Other revenue was up 5.4% to $750 million due primarily to higher loyalty revenue. Fourth-quarter total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) increased by 0.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2018 on a 2.9% increase in total available seat miles.
Total fourth-quarter 2019 operating expenses were $10.6 billion, up 2.1% year over year, driven primarily by higher salaries and benefits, maintenance, and regional expenses. Total fourth-quarter 2019 cost per available seat mile (CASM) was 15.06 cents, down 0.8% from fourth-quarter 2018. Excluding fuel and net special items, consolidated fourth-quarter CASM was 11.59 cents, up 2% year over year.
