American Airlines saw its highest-ever revenue in its company history in the second quarter of 2026.
The carrier said in its earnings report that it saw a revenue of $16.7 billion, which is 16.5% higher than the same quarter in 2025.
The revenue translates to an adjusted net income of $99 million for the quarter, which comes amid significantly elevated fuel costs due to the ongoing Iran war.
American’s profits have been a contentious subject with its flight attendants and pilots so far in 2026.
Lackluster profits at the airline in early 2026 were one reason the board of directors of American’s flight attendants union issued a no-confidence vote in the airline’s CEO Robert Isom in February. The carrier’s 2025 annual profits lagged behind competitors’ numbers.
Earlier in July, Isom revealed plans for how American could close its profit gap by improving on-time performance, upgrading airplane cabins, building larger airport lounges, and providing more premium seats.
Isom credits the strategy for the record-breaking revenue in the second quarter.
“This performance reflects the strength of our commercial strategy, driven by our four pillars: elevate the customer experience, grow the global network, drive premium revenue and lead in loyalty,” said Isom. “Revenue growth was strong across all entities and cabins, with premium, Main Cabin, domestic and international all up meaningfully year over year.”
Passenger unit revenue for premium cabins was up 13.4%, while the Main Cabin saw passenger unit revenue jump by 8.8% compared to 2025.
The carrier’s domestic revenue increased by 10.6% year over year, following soft demand in 2025 due to economic concerns among budget travelers.
American also saw strong international demand, with revenue up by 8.9% in the Atlantic market, 15.1% in the Pacific, and 6.6% in Latin America year over year.
“These results demonstrate that our revenue performance and efficiency efforts will continue to drive improved results, and I’m excited about the remainder of 2026 and what’s ahead in 2027 and beyond,” Isom said.
The carrier also said that improvements to the customer experience helped grow its Net Promoters Score, a figure used to gauge brand loyalty and customer sentiment, by five points compared to Q2 in 2025.
Amid the economic headwinds the airline faced was a fuel bill for the quarter that was $2.2 billion more expensive or 83% higher year-over-year. The carrier said it was able to offset half of the added fuel cost by raising airfares.
Looking ahead to the third quarter, American said it expects fuel costs to be $1.7 billion higher than the same quarter in 2025, an added expense the airline plans to mitigate through similar strategies used in Q3.
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