American Airlines sets a revenue record as fuel drives a loss

What happened

American Airlines Group reported a third-quarter net loss of $269 million on Thursday 22 October, on record revenue of $16.3 billion, as its fuel bill grew by $1.9 billion. ^[1]

Revenue was 19.3 percent higher than a year earlier, above the 16 to 19 percent range American gave in July. Operating income, what the airline earned from flying before interest and taxes, was $115 million, against $151 million a year earlier. The same quarter of 2025 ended in a net loss of $114 million, the company reported. ^{[1, 2]}

Unit revenue, total revenue per seat flown one mile, was up 14.5 percent, the release said. Unit cost, the cost of flying one seat one mile without fuel, special items and profit sharing, was up 3.0 percent. ^[1]

Why it matters

Fuel cost $4.635 billion in the quarter, 67.5 percent more than a year earlier, the company reported. American said it paid an average of $3.85 a gallon, against $2.37 a year before and the roughly $3.75 it expected in July. By the desk's arithmetic, fuel took about 29 cents of every dollar of operating cost, against about 20 cents a year earlier. ^{[1, 2]}

Why fuel costs more

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, reached $110.63 a barrel early on Thursday 22 October, The National reported. It tied the move to a drone strike near Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield, which it attributed to the Houthis. ^[3]

American built its fourth-quarter fuel figure on the forward fuel curve as of Monday 19 October, it said: the prices the market sets for fuel delivered later. ^[1]

Cash and debt

American said it ended September with $11.8 billion of total available liquidity, up from the $11.3 billion it reported at the end of June. Total debt, which the company counts with leases and pension obligations, was $36.4 billion. Net of $8.3 billion in cash and short-term investments, it was $28.1 billion. ^{[1, 2]}

What settles it next

American expects fourth-quarter revenue 19.5 to 22.5 percent above a year earlier, and fuel at about $4.70 a gallon, nearly double what it paid in the fourth quarter of 2025. At that price, it said, fuel expense would be about $2.8 billion higher, and it expects network growth to slow in 2027. ^[1]

The fourth-quarter results are the next record that grades this outlook; the release gives no date for them. ^[1]

Who it reaches

American Airlines Group (AAL) is direct: the results and the outlook are its own, filed with the SEC on Thursday 22 October. ^[1]

Boeing (BA) is adjacent: the FAA certified its 737 MAX 10 on Tuesday 20 October, and Reuters named American among the jet's major customers. American's release does not mention the MAX 10. ^{[4, 5, 1]}