Record high fuel costs and bad weather were blamed for a $69 million loss by AMR Corporation, the parent of American Airlines, for the fourth quarter of 2007. For the full year, however, AMR reported a net profit of $504 million.
AMR CEO, Gerald Arpey, told reporters that passenger demand remains strong and that AA will continue to innovate. AA paid $367 million more in increased fuel costs in the quarter than it did in the fourth quarter of 2006, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The Air Transport Association, the airlines trade group, said the past two years (2006-07) will show the first back-to-back net profit for U.S. airlines since 1999-2000. The ATA also notes that in addition to high fuel costs, the airlines face high -fixed costs, cyclical demand and fierce competition. Visit http://www.aa.com and http://www.airlines.org. (GD)