American Airlines Q3 ops impacted by hurricanes

While American Airlines reported an increase in total revenue of 2.7 percent during the third quarter of 2017, compared with the same quarter in 2016, net income for the airline in Q3 fell by 15.3 percent to US$624 million, as the carrier’s operations were negatively impacted by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, which struck the southeastern U.S. and Caribbean regions between August and September.

“Despite the significant operational challenges posed by three hurricanes, our team delivered solid financial results,” said the carrier’s chairman and CEO, Doug Parker.

Operations did improve for the airline on the cargo side, where revenue increased by 17 percent, compared with Q3 for the prior year, reaching US$200 million, thanks to a 19.2 percent increase in cargo ton miles. However, while a 17 percent increase in cargo operating revenues was, by far, the largest rise for any of American Airlines’ operating segments, cargo makes up the smallest share of the carrier’s overall operations, at only about 1.8 percent.