A member of a ground crew walks past American Airlines planes parked at the gate during the coronavirus disease outbreak at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington April 5, 2020. — Reuters picNEW YORK, April 22 — American Airlines reported another quarterly loss today as Covid-19 continued to depress travel, but expressed optimism at an industry recovery with vaccinations becoming more widespread.
“The pandemic is far from over,” American’s CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom said in a letter to employees. “But as our world makes daily strides in Covid-19 vaccination efforts, customers are returning to travel and there is no doubt the pace of the recovery is accelerating.” American reached agreements with Boeing to defer receiving some new 787 and 737 planes. On the 737 MAX, American now expects 18 new aircraft deliveries to occur in 2023 and 2024 instead of 2021 and 2022.
In an interview with CNBC, Parker said he expects strong demand this summer for leisure markets with “beaches and mountains.”