Doug Parker
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 passenger plane takes off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Southwest Airlines Co. on Thursday, April 22 reported first-quarter net income of $116 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. The Dallas-based company said it had profit of 19 cents per share. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
US aid lifts Southwest to Q1 profit, American loses $1.25B

By David Koenig Apr. 22, 2021 12:09 PM EDT

FILE - In this July 17, 2019 file photo American Airlines planes are parked on the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) on Thursday, April 22, 2021, reported a loss of $1.25 billion in its first quarter. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
American Airlines posts $1.25 billion loss, delays new jets

Apr. 22, 2021 07:49 AM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 9, 2021 file photo, travelers walk through the Salt Lake City International Airport, in Salt Lake City. The number of people flying in the United States has eclipsed the year-ago level for the first time in the pandemic period, although travel remains deeply depressed from 2019. The Transportation Security Administration said 1.34 million people passed through U.S. airport checkpoints on Sunday, March 14 topping the 1.26 million people that TSA screened on the comparable Sunday a year ago. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
US air travel rises to highest levels yet since pandemic hit

By David Koenig Mar. 15, 2021 02:56 PM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2020 file photo, American Airlines ticket agent Henry Gemdron, left, works with a customer at Miami International Airport during the coronavirus pandemic in Miami. American Airlines’ stock rose earlier this week during market volatility around struggling companies, and now the airline is using the opening to sell up to $1.1 billion in new shares. American said Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, that it reached agreement with lenders including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup on the offering. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
American Airlines set to issue new stock after price run-up

By David Koenig Jan. 29, 2021 02:38 PM EST

An American Airlines Boeing 777 is framed by utility wires as it prepares to land at Miami International Airport, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Miami. The airline said Thursday that it lost $2.2 billion in the fourth quarter, with revenue plunging by nearly two-thirds from a year earlier. And the airline lost $8.9 billion for the full year after earning nearly $1.7 billion in 2019. .(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Airlines close books on rotten 2020 and so far, 2021 is grim

By David Koenig Jan. 28, 2021 11:58 AM EST

FILE - In this June 24, 2020 file photo, Southwest Airlines employee Oscar Gonzalez, right, assists a passenger at the ticket counter at Love Field in Dallas. Southwest Airlines says it's not going to furlough workers in 2021 after all. The airline's CEO says that with Washington's approval of $15 billion in new federal aid to airlines, furloughs or pay cuts aren't needed. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
Southwest pulls threat of furloughs after relief bill signed

By David Koenig Dec. 28, 2020 02:23 PM EST

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7H4 takes off, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Airlines are continuing to pile up billions of dollars in losses as the pandemic causes a massive drop in air travel. Southwest Airlines on Thursday, Oct. 22, lost $1.16 billion in the normally strong third quarter, which includes most of the summer vacation season.(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
US airlines still piling up losses but say demand is rising

By David Koenig Oct. 22, 2020 07:36 AM EDT

American Airlines ticket agent Henry Gemdron, left, works with a customer at Miami International Airport during the coronavirus pandemic, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Miami. The airline industry has been decimated by the pandemic. The Payroll Support Program given to the airlines as part of the CARES Act runs out Thursday. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
American to furlough 19,000 as clock runs out on airlines

By David Koenig Sep. 30, 2020 03:53 PM EDT

FILE - An American Airlines Boeing 737-823 lands at Miami International Airport, Monday, July 27, 2020, in Miami.American Airlines said Tuesday, Aug. 25 that it will furlough or lay off 19,000 employees in October as it struggles with a sharp downturn in travel because of the pandemic. Flight attendants will bear the heaviest cuts, with 8,100 losing their jobs. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
American Airlines plans 19,000 furloughs, layoffs in October

By David Koenig Aug. 25, 2020 04:45 PM EDT

ARCHIVO – En esta fotografía de archivo del 25 de marzo de 2020, varios jets de American Airlines permanecen inmóviles en una terminal del Aeropuerto Internacional Sky Harbor, en Phoenix. (AP Foto/Matt York, archivo)
American, Southwest add to US airline industry's 2Q losses

By David Koenig Jul. 23, 2020 08:16 AM EDT

United Airlines posts $1.6 billion loss in virus-scarred 2Q

By David Koenig Jul. 21, 2020 06:06 PM EDT
United Airlines said Tuesday that it lost $1.63 billion in the second quarter as revenue plunged 87%, and it will operate at barely over one-third of capacity...

FILE - In this April 30, 2020, file photo, Ethan Cale walks to the American Airlines ticket counter in Salt Lake City. American Airlines is telling 25,000 workers that they could lose their jobs in October because of the sharp drop in air travel during the virus pandemic. The airline said Wednesday, July 15, it was starting new offers of buyouts and partially paid leave, which it hopes will reduce the number of furloughs. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
American Airlines warns 25,000 workers they could lose jobs

By David Koenig Jul. 15, 2020 07:11 PM EDT

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 25, 2020, file photo, American Airlines jets sit idly at their gates as a jet arrives at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. American Airlines and four smaller carriers have reached agreement with the government for billions more in federal loans, a sign of the industry’s desperate fight to survive a downturn in air travel caused by the virus pandemic. The Treasury Department said Thursday, July 2, 2020, that it had finalized terms of new loans to American, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and SkyWest Airlines. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
American and 4 other airlines reach loan agreements with US

By David Koenig Jul. 02, 2020 10:00 AM EDT

FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, April 23, 2008, an EasyJet jetliner lands at the Milan Linate airport, Italy. European budget airline eastJet said Thursday May 28, 2020, it plans to cut up to a third of its 15,000-strong workforce as the global aviation industry struggles to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, FILE)
Airlines increase job cuts as pandemic crushes air travel

By David Koenig And Danica Kirka May. 28, 2020 01:11 PM EDT

In this Monday, April 27, 2020, photo provided by Vince Warburton, passengers get off an American Airlines flight airplane after they landed at Los Angeles International Airport. JetBlue requires passengers to wear face makes during flights, and Frontier Airlines says it will too, but face coverings are strictly optional on most airlines. American Airlines said it will start providing masks for passengers who want them. (Vince Warburton via AP)
Major US airlines to require passengers to wear face masks

By David Koenig Apr. 30, 2020 05:23 PM EDT

Ethan Cale receives his ticket at the American Airlines ticket counter Thursday, April 30, 2020, in Salt Lake City. American Airlines reports a staggering loss of $2.2 billion for the first quarter, when the new coronavirus began to cause a steep drop in air travel. American Airlines reported Thursday that revenue fell 19% while costs continued to rise even as the virus spread. Air travel within the U.S. has plunged 95% from a year ago, judging by the number of people screened at the nation's airports. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Airline nosedive: American, United post huge pandemic losses

By David Koenig Apr. 30, 2020 08:08 AM EDT