The American Airline merger may be raking in some savings. American Airlines Group Inc. stated that it earned a combined $1.95 billion in 2013, according to Dallas News. That said, the number carries a lot of asterisks--especially considering that the recent report is muddied by both a merger and a bankruptcy.
The net income actually excludes the $3.1 billion net in special items and one-time charges, the majority of which is related to American's bankruptcy filing, according to Dallas News. In addition, the report also assumes that the two airlines--American Airlines Inc. and U.S. Airways Group Inc.--operated as a single company for a full year.
The new merger has actually received quite a lot of hype in recent weeks. Created in December, the merger has quite a few changes associated with it. American Airlines Group Inc. will change aircraft size on some routes in order to better match demand and create savings, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. In addition, it expects to receive $400 million in new annual revenue from changing its schedule, according to The Wall Street Journal.
American's total quarterly combined sales actually climbed 8.7 percent to $9.98 billion--an impressive feat, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. In addition, earnings per share on a combined basis were 59 cents, according to American.
"We are becoming more and more comfortable with American's story going forward despite the challenges of merging two companies," wrote Cowen & Co. analyst Helane Becker in an interview with Dallas News.
So far, American has already started adding seats on its Boeing Co. MD-80s, 737-800s and 777-200s. In addition, the number of the MD-80s is rising from 135 to 140 as the airline continues to retire those planes from its fleet.
