by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:43 AM ET, Fri September 29, 2017
During an investor meeting, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said he believes the carrier is never going to lose money again.
According to CNBC.com, Parker revealed Thursday American would earn about $3 billion in profit before taxes, despite some experts calling it a "bad year" for the airline.
American officials revealed the airline has earned an estimated $19.2 billion in pretax income over the last four years, as compared to the $1 billion combined income the carrier made between 1978 and 2013.
Some of the reasons behind the rise in airline revenue include lower fuel prices, higher fees and less competition because of mergers. In total, American, Delta, United and Southwest control more than 80 percent of the air travel market in the United States.
"I don't think we're ever going to lose money again," Parker said during the investor meeting. "We have an industry that's going to be profitable in good and bad times."
While the numbers are still strong, the airlines face potential issues as the markets change.
Industry analysts are concerned that carriers could be growing too rapidly, oil prices could cause a spike in fuel expense and unforeseen events could hurt sales, including terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
[READMORE]READ MORE: Earn 60K Miles with American Airlines Card[/READMORE]
In response to the negativity, Parker outlined a plan for American to increase revenue by $3.9 billion over the next four years by working on new deals with credit card companies, adding more seats to its existing planes and other improvements.
Parker also went on to say American reversed course on plans to shrink the space between rows on its planes to 29 inches after unfavorable publicity and complaints from flight attendants.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
