American Airlines Group Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. both reported Thursday that they earned record profits in the three months ended Sept. 30.
For Southwest, it was a record for the third quarter. For American, no such qualifier was necessary.
American, thriving after its Dec. 9 merger with US Airways Group, said it had net income of $942 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared to $289 million in the same period in 2013.
That beat its previous record for a quarter, $864 million, set three months earlier in second quarter 2014. Before that, one had to go back to third quarter 1998 when predecessor AMR Corp. posted net income of $433 million.
Excluding special items and charges, American said it earned $1.2 billion.
“We are very pleased to have reported a record profit for each quarter so far in 2014,” AAG chairman and CEO Doug Parker said in American’s announcement. “We anticipate we will also post a record profit for both the fourth quarter and full year 2014. This performance reflects the strength of our merger and the commitment of our team.”
Southwest reported net income of $382 million excluding special items and charges, compared to $241 million in third quarter 2013. Including all items and charges, the carrier earned $329 million versus $259 million a year earlier.
Its best quarter ever came in the second quarter when it earned $465 million, or $485 million excluding items and charges.
“Our traffic and revenue trends were strong throughout the third quarter, generating a 4.5 percent year-over-year increase in unit revenues, despite a large percentage of our route system in development or conversion as we continued to transition AirTran flying to Southwest,” Southwest Airlines chairman and CEO Gary Kelly said in Southwest’s announcement.
“Our third quarter 2014 revenue strength was driven by record load factors and a strong performance in our Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program. Thus far, revenue momentum has continued into October 2014, with favorable load factor and unit revenue trends. Current bookings for November and December are also good,” he said.
Both carriers will hold conference calls with analysts and the news media Thursday to discuss their results.
Also reporting Thursday were three other major carriers.
United Continental Holdings Inc., parent of United Airlines Inc., said it earned a record $1.08 billion excluding items, compared to $541 million a year earlier. Including items it earned $924 million compared to $379 million in third quarter 2013.
Alaska Air Group Inc. said it set a record for net income, excluding items and charges, with $200 million for the quarter, versus $157 million a year earlier. Under generally accepted accounting principles, it earned $198 million, compared to $289 million in third quarter 2013.
JetBlue Airways Corp. said its net income was $79 million, compared to $71 million a year earlier.