Loyalty and more expensive tickets will boost revenue


An American Airlines Boeing 737 airliner arrives from Austin at JFK International Airport in New York as the Manhattan skyline looms in the background on February 7, 2024.

Charly Triballeau | afp | fake images

american airlines It said Monday that 80% of its revenue this year will come from loyalty program members and passengers buying more expensive tickets, compared to a 70% share in 2017.

American and other airlines have invested billions of dollars in new cabins, lounges and onboard improvements to serve high-spending travelers. The rival of the Americans Delta Airlineshas repeatedly said that growth in premium income, which considers tickets for seats with greater legroom and higher-end cabins, has become a larger proportion of its total sales and is growing faster than sales of tickets in the economy class cabin.

American said early Monday it was ordering 260 new boeingAirbus and Embraer to renew their fleet and would modernize older Airbus aircraft to increase the size of their first class cabins.

American's earnings forecast comes as part of its first investor day in more than six years. Consider “premium content” tickets that cost more than the cheapest offer. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline said it expects to increase its pretax margins in the coming years and reduce its debt load.

The airline declined to provide earnings or revenue forecasts for the first quarter or the full year. Analysts surveyed by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv, project 2024 earnings per share of $2.56 and revenue of $54.97 billion.

U.S. stocks fell more than 4% in afternoon trading.

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