(Reuters) – American Airlines reported a quarterly loss on Thursday, as it was hobbled by the impact of rising jet fuel prices and expensive labor contracts.
Rising costs as well as signs of softening domestic travel demand have raised worries about the industry’s profitability, sparking a sell-off in airline stocks and prompting analysts to slash their earnings estimates.
On Tuesday, United Airlines forecast weaker fourth-quarter earnings due to higher costs.
American Airlines itself had warned in August that third-quarter costs would rise following a new labor deal with its pilots that included more than $9.6 billion in total pay and benefits increases over four years.
The company’s net loss was $545 million, or 83 cent per share, for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $483 million, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier.
The carrier’s total operating revenue marginally rose to $13.48 billion.
(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
