The U.S. mega-carrier American Airlines has released its full results for 2021 as well as the fourth quarter of 2021, which show the company suffered massive net losses during an incredibly difficult time for the aviation industry. The full-year net loss was $2.0 billion, whilst in the last quarter, losses amounted to $931 million. Despite the negative amounts, American carried more than 165 million passengers during 2021, which was more than any other U.S. carrier.
American’s Chairman and CEO Doug Parker commented: "As we close out the second year of operating in a global pandemic, we are incredibly proud of the American Airlines team. Over the past year, we have experienced periods of high travel demand countered by periods of decreased demand due to new COVID-19 variants. This volatility has created the most challenging planning environment in the history of commercial aviation. Yet the American team has delivered, growing back faster and further than any other U.S. airline to meet this unpredictable demand. Looking ahead, I’m excited about the future of American with Robert Isom as its new CEO. While we still have work to do as the recovery from the pandemic continues, I have no doubt the best is yet to come for American.”
Another positive for the carrier was its timekeeping, the airline achieved its best performance in on-time arrivals, on-time departures and completion factor since the pandemic, despite flying significantly more than any other airline. The company’s on-time performance in December was better than any December in years prior to the pandemic, and American performed better than its primary competitors in these operational metrics during the month. These results were achieved despite an increase in sick calls toward the end of the year due to the omicron variant.
“We’re very proud of the way our team delivered throughout 2021,” said American’s President and incoming CEO Robert Isom. “Looking forward, our focus in 2022 will be to continue running a reliable airline, returning to profitability, and delivering on our long-term plan to deleverage the balance sheet.”
American is committed to strengthening its business and achieving profitability by focusing on its three strategic objectives: Create a world-class customer experience, make culture a competitive advantage and build American to thrive forever.
American Airlines plans for future development......
To create a world-class customer experience, American:
- Expanded its Northeast Alliance (NEA) with JetBlue to provide members of the AAdvantage® and TrueBlue Mosaic loyalty programs with reciprocal elite benefits when traveling on either airline. Customers will experience even more benefits from the NEA this year, including the most flight choices in dozens of markets from New York and Boston, lie-flat seats on all transcontinental routes and a robust international network.
- Introduced a redesign of the AAdvantage loyalty program, effective in 2022, that removes complicated elite qualifying metrics in favor of an easy-to-understand point system that provides members with multiple ways to earn status. Starting this year, AAdvantage members can earn status by flying, using an AAdvantage credit card for purchases, or spending with an AAdvantage partner.
- Announced plans to build a new 15,000+-square-foot Admirals Club in Austin, Texas (AUS). The lounge will seat more than 250 customers, making it the largest airport lounge in Austin. Construction will begin this year.
- Was recognized with the prestigious Five Star rating in The APEX Official Airline Ratings™, Global Airline category, for the fourth consecutive year. The award is based on customer feedback on the overall travel experience.
- Announced new service between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Doha, Qatar (DOH), which will launch this summer as part of its deepening relationship with Qatar Airways.
To make culture a competitive advantage, American:
- Celebrated the opening of its Robert L. Crandall Campus in Fort Worth, Texas. Team members from across the system attended with their families and friends and joined a ribbon-cutting ceremony with American’s retired Chairman and CEO Bob Crandall.
- Welcomed its first flight attendant graduating class since the start of the pandemic. These new flight attendants waited more than 600 days to officially join the airline.
- Worked to ensure its team members are vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 97% of American’s team members have submitted proof of vaccination or a request for a medical or religious accommodation.
To build American to thrive forever, American:
- Announced its leadership succession plan in early December. Doug Parker will retire as CEO of American on March 31 and will be succeeded by current President Robert Isom. Isom will join American’s board of directors on the same date, and Parker will continue to serve as chairman of the board. American also announced the senior leadership team that will report to Isom when he becomes CEO.
- Ended the fourth quarter with $15.8 billion of total available liquidity.
- Was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index for the first time, the only passenger airline to be included. The recognition is a testament to the airline’s ongoing commitment to excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters, including reducing carbon emissions from its operations; advancing diversity, equity and inclusion; and providing regular and transparent ESG disclosures.
- Finalized a new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) offtake agreement with Aemetis. The agreement brings the airline’s total SAF commitment to more than 120 million gallons over the next decade, a signal of the integral role SAF will play in American’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions and achieve its ambitious sustainability goals.
- Announced that its board of directors has adopted a tax benefit preservation plan to help preserve the value of its net operating losses and other tax attributes. The company estimates that it has $17.2 billion in cumulative U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards, which are available to reduce future U.S. corporate income tax liabilities.
Financial results
Click the button below to download the fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 financial results.
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