American Airlines Is Playing Competitive Catch-Up in Pursuit of Premium Customers

Before the pandemic, much of American Airlines’ story was based on realizing cost efficiencies from its 2013 merger with US Airways and investing in its hubs to expand margins. While margins bumped up to 15.1% in 2015, American saw steady unit cost growth through 2019, when it delivered a 6.7% operating margin. We expect American can achieve some operating cost improvement in the coming years, but we don't expect it to structurally improve its position among airlines.