American Airlines Now Sees 2026 Loss as Fuel Bill Jumps 67.5%

American Airlines Group has slashed its 2026 outlook and now expects a full-year loss, after a 67.5% jump in its fuel bill wiped out the benefit of record third-quarter revenue, the company said on Thursday. Its shares fell about 4% in early New York trading, dragging Delta and United down around 3% each, 24/7 Wall St reported.

The Fort Worth-based carrier now forecasts an adjusted loss of US$1.00 to US$1.60 per share for 2026. Its July guidance had ranged from a 65-cent loss to a 65-cent profit, according to 24/7 Wall St, while Quartz noted the earlier outlook had left room for a profitable year.

Fuel bill swamps record revenue

Total operating revenue rose 19.3% from a year earlier to US$16.34 billion in the three months to September, a quarterly record that the airline said came in above the top of its own guidance range. But spending on aircraft fuel and related taxes climbed by US$1.9 billion to US$4.64 billion, as the average price paid rose to US$3.85 a gallon from US$2.37 a year earlier.

The result was a GAAP net loss of US$269 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with a loss of US$114 million in the same period of 2025. Excluding special items, the adjusted loss was 28 cents a share, narrower than the 33-cent loss analysts had expected, according to 24/7 Wall St. Operating income slipped to US$115 million from US$151 million.

Chief executive Robert Isom said historically high fuel prices had significantly hurt the results, adding that the company remains focused on “restoring profitability and building a stronger American.”

Premium cabins lead the gains

Demand remained firm across the network. Premium revenue grew 22.9% year on year and managed corporate revenue jumped 27.6%, marking a sixth straight quarter of double-digit growth, the company said. Total unit revenue rose 14.5%, with domestic passenger unit revenue up 13.6% and international up 16.4%. Enrolments in the AAdvantage loyalty programme rose 27.4%.

Unit costs excluding fuel, special items and profit sharing rose 3.0%. American ended the quarter with US$11.8 billion of available liquidity and said it remains committed to cutting debt and reaching a net debt-to-EBITDAR target of 3.0 times. Total debt and finance leases stood at about US$29.6 billion, alongside a stockholders’ deficit of roughly US$4.2 billion.

What’s next for American Airlines

The pressure is set to intensify in the final quarter. Based on the forward fuel curve as of October 19, American expects to pay about US$4.70 a gallon, nearly double the price a year earlier, adding roughly US$2.8 billion to its fuel bill. It guided for a fourth-quarter adjusted loss of 50 cents to US$1.10 a share, even as revenue is forecast to rise 19.5% to 22.5% on capacity growth of 5.5% to 6.5%.

Given elevated fuel prices, the airline also said network growth in 2027 will slow from this year’s pace, though it did not give a figure. It is targeting nearly US$1 billion in annual run-rate savings by the end of 2026. Investors will watch whether fare increases and premium demand can keep pace with fuel costs as US rivals report and update their own outlooks.

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