American Airlines Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Financial Results

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American Airlines, Inc.
American Airlines, Inc.

FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) today reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results, including:

  • Record fourth-quarter revenue of $13.7 billion and record full-year revenue of $54.2 billion

  • Fourth-quarter and full-year GAAP net income of $590 million and $846 million, or $0.84 and $1.24 per diluted share, respectively

  • Excluding net special items1, fourth-quarter and full-year net income of $609 million and $1.4 billion, or $0.86 and $1.96 per diluted share, respectively

  • Generated $4 billion in full-year operating cash flow and record full-year free cash flow2 of $2.2 billion

  • Announced an exclusive 10-year co-branded credit card partnership with Citi, which is expected to unlock even more value for AAdvantage® co-branded and Citi-branded cardmembers

  • Achieved total debt3 reduction goal of $15 billion from peak levels — a full year ahead of schedule

“The American Airlines team achieved a number of important objectives in 2024,” said American’s CEO Robert Isom. “We continue to run a reliable operation, and we are reengineering the business to build an even more efficient airline. That, coupled with our commercial actions, resulted in strong financial performance in the fourth quarter. As we look ahead to this year, American remains well-positioned because of the strength of our network, loyalty and co-branded credit card programs, fleet and operational reliability, and the tremendous work of our team.”

Revenue performance
American produced record fourth-quarter and full-year revenue of $13.7 billion and $54.2 billion, respectively. This revenue performance was driven by the actions the airline took to adjust capacity, combined with continued demand strength. Total unit revenue inflected positive in the quarter, up 2.0% versus 2023. In the fourth quarter, American’s year-over-year Domestic, Atlantic, Pacific and total passenger unit revenue results led U.S. network carriers.

Citi partnership
In December, American and Citi announced a new 10-year agreement, with Citi becoming the exclusive issuer of the AAdvantage® co-branded credit card portfolio in the U.S. starting in 2026. The new agreement is expected to drive incremental value for both companies and produce a significantly expanded loyalty and rewards ecosystem for AAdvantage® members and Citi-branded cardmembers alike. Cash remuneration from co-branded credit cards and other partners was $6.1 billion in 2024, an increase of 17.0% versus 2023. Cash remuneration in 2024 included a one-time cash payment related to the new co-branded credit card agreement announced in December. This one-time payment will be amortized over the life of the new agreement beginning in 2026, and therefore had no impact on American’s revenue or earnings in 2024.