American Airlines Advocates For Expanded Visa-Free Travel And Exclusive Technological Implementation

American Airlines is calling for policies and action that spur demand for travel, both domestically and abroad.

According to the CEO of the Airlines Robert Isom,

“This starts with making America a welcoming destination for international travelers”

He said this on the carrier’s April 24 first quarter (Q1) earnings call for 2025. Citing forthcoming events, such as the FIFA World Cup 2026, which it sponsors, he described the travel industry as a vital economic engine for the United States.

According to Robert Isom, “increasing visa-free travel, lowering visa processing times, and speeding the deployment of new technology to make travel more easy and secure” are further ways to assist its growth.

Air traffic control (ATC) modernization initiatives will also be crucial if Trump’s administration supports them, Isome told investors. “Probably the largest limitation to expansion in the business as they look out over several years,” he said of the aging system.

American is now adapting to the uncertain climate already mentioned by its rivals and adopting “a cautious, perhaps a negative attitude to growth” in the upcoming year after seeing strong momentum as it concluded the fourth quarter of 2024. As circumstances may dictate, it is ready to reduce off-peak flights, retire aircraft, postpone deliveries, and return leased assets.

“We will remain nimble,” said Isom, intending to “efficiently reduce capacity without jeopardizing the quality of our core network.” He added, “uncertainty is what we’re living with now.”

As the economic prognosis becomes more obvious, American is joining an increasing number of airlines in withdrawing its advice for the entire year. It anticipates capacity to increase by roughly 2% to 4% year over year in the second quarter (Q2). It would not provide guidance beyond Q2.

Similar to its mainline competitors, American is observing a decline in its most price-sensitive clients’ domestic main cabin. Although the prognosis beyond summer is uncertain, U.S. travel abroad is still strong. It sells about 75% of its foreign sales as U.S. points of sale, which is slightly less than the 80% offered by United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

Business travel for Americans seems to be doing well; the airline calls it “vibrant,” implying that its attempts to regain sales and distribution may put it in a better position to observe improvements. A new business distribution strategy that it referred to as a tactical error was overturned in 2024.

“As long as the economy continues to support business traffic, we’re going to continue to grow business traffic in the second quarter and we should grow it faster than the other airlines because of the progress from our distribution efforts,” said Steve Johnson, vice chair and chief strategy officer.

U.S. airlines continue to be concerned about tariffs as they evaluate the impact on their aircraft deliveries and wider supply chain. In the upcoming year, American expects to take delivery of 40-50 new aircraft, including Airbus A321XLRs, airframes it now expects toward the end of the year. Isom claims that the weakness in main cabin demand and the significant decline in government business are largely overshadowing the uplift from its corporate share recapture.

“I don’t want to pay any more for aircraft. It doesn’t make sense … Certainly this is not something we would intend to absorb, and I’ll tell you, it’s not something that I would expect our customers to welcome. So, we’ve got to work on this.”

The airline CEO anticipates, in working with the U.S. administration, that a framework can be achieved that ensures aviation in the U.S. is competitive.

American Airlines Has An Exclusive Air Travel Rights For The 2026 FIFA World Cup

In Q1, American recorded total operating revenues of $12.6 billion, down 0.2% year-over-year on a 2.1% uptick in operating expenses. Revenue took an estimated $200 million hit from the fatal American Eagle Flight 5342 crash in Washington, D.C., in January, and the carrier posted a net loss of $473 million for the quarter, widened from a net loss of $312 million in the year-ago period. The airline ended Q1 with $10.8 billion in total available liquidity.

American’s total unit revenue was up 0.7% year-over-year on strength in international. The carrier noted continued growth in premium and loyalty, with spend on its co-branded credit card up by 8%—believing it is “on track” for targeted cash remuneration growth of 10% annually.

Looking ahead, American’s guidance for the second quarter (Q2) forecasts revenue to be in the range of down 2% to up 1% versus the year-ago period, as it anticipates softness in the domestic main cabin to continue. Partially offsetting this challenge are expectations that long-haul international and premium bookings will outperform on a year-over-year basis. American forecasts adjusted operating margin for the coming quarter to be 6%-8.5% versus Q2 2024.

Despite current headwinds, American is optimistic that improvements are ahead. There is an awareness of sentiments surrounding uncertainty, Isom said, describing the U.S. administration as wanting to get back on track as soon as possible.