(Reuters) – American Airlines Group Inc reported a smaller adjusted first-quarter loss on Thursday, as a strong pickup in travel in March helped offset a blip in January caused by the Omicron variant of COVID-19, sending its shares up 8.5% before the bell.
The airline and its subsidiaries had to call off more than 3,000 flights in January, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware, as the industry struggled with mass cancellations due to adverse weather and an outbreak of the highly infectious Omicron variant.
The first-quarter was impacted by high fuel costs due to the Ukraine war and persistent pilot and ground staff shortages.
Airlines, however, have cut capacity and a surge in air travel demand has also allowed them to pass on high fuel costs to consumers.
Last week, Delta Air Lines Inc said robust consumer demand led to a “solid” profit in March, prompting the Atlanta-based airline to forecast a “meaningful” profit this year.
On Thursday, American Airlines reported an adjusted loss of $1.51 billion, or $2.32 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $2.74 billion, or $4.32 per share, a year earlier.
Operating revenue rose to about $8.9 billion from about $4 billion a year earlier.
(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
