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| American Airlines |
| Annual revenues: | $22,935m | | Annual operating profit: | $1,019m | | Annual net profit: | $419m | | Operating profit margin: | 4% |
(Figures are from the period of JAN07-DEC07 in U.S. dollars.)
| Fleet: | | | Type | Number in Fleet | | A300-600R | 33 | | B737-800 | 108 | | B757-200 | 124 | | B767-200 | 15 | | B767-300 | 58 | | B777-200 | 49 | | DC-9-82 | 207 | | DC-9-83 | 90 | |
For more detailed fleet information, visit www.ch-aviation.ch
Strengths and opportunities:
- Large scale and broad domestic network
- Ancillary revenues growing fast
- Powerful Dallas-Fort Worth hub with limited direct low-cost competition
- Best Latin American network of any U.S. carrier thanks to Miami hub
- London Heathrow access; big in Tokyo as well
- Strong Chicago hub in the middle of the U.S.
- Could spin off American Eagle or other subsidiaries if it does need cash (though it currently has an enormous amount of cash)
- Member of the oneworld alliance, with especially strong links to Iberia and LAN
- Hoping to form three-way transatlantic joint venture with BA and Iberia
- Giant frequent flier program and lucrative base of corporate traffic
Weaknesses and threats:
- High labor costs relative to key rivals
- Relatively weak in Asia, even in Tokyo where it has a lot of capacity and a codeshare partner but no beyond rights like United and Northwest
- Anti-trust laws limit its cooperation with partner British Airways, for now anyway
- High interest costs
- All that cash sitting on its balance sheet earning low returns rather than being used for capital investment
- Huge fleet of older narrowbody MD-80s which burn lots of fuel
- Restrictive pilot scope clause limits 70-seat regional jet flying
- Tense labor relations; contracts expire soon
- Still doing heavy maintenance in house
- Unit costs rising as it slashes capacity
- Dallas hub less protected by Wright Amendment following recent revision
- Dallas-Fort Worth not much of a tourist draw
- Considerably weaker in Chicago than United
- Spirit eating into its Miami-Caribbean & Latin markets from nearby Ft. Lauderdale
- jetBlue also aggressively expanding in the Caribbean; Delta and Continental adding service there as well
- Many of its workers earning at high ends of the seniority-based wage scales
- Still maintains underfunded fixed benefit pension plans for most workers
Financial data is sourced from company reports. The strengths and weaknesses are based on an analysis by Airline Weekly's editors. Information provided on airlineweekly.com is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice.
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