The three biggest U.S. airlines racked up a combined profit of more than $2 billion in the third quarter. American Airlines announced.
Thursday that it earned $483 million on record-breaking revenue in the third quarter, and predicts the profit will continue to exceed expectations through 2022.
United Airlines reported a $942 million profit earlier this week, and Delta Air Lines posted third-quarter earnings of $695 million last week.
Some experts believe the record setting profits are in part due to the skyrocketing price of airline tickets. In the last year, tickets have spiked by 43%, which is the largest jump since the Federal Reserve started tracking the index in 1989. In April alone, airfares jumped 18.6%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As a result, ticket prices are near all-time highs with many paying international prices for domestic travel.
American, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, predicted that fourth-quarter profit 3.5 to 4 times higher that
Wall Street’s forecast.
Also Thursday, the parent of Alaska Airlines reported a $40 million third-quarter profit on record revenue of $2.8 billion.
