American Airlines posts record profit for 4Q, all of 2015

In this Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, photo, an American Airlines flight taxis at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. Vetr raised American Airlines Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $46.39 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 13th.

“We have directly benefited from lower fuel prices due to our lack of fuel hedges, ” Derek Kerr, American’s chief financial officer said during the earnings call. “It’s hard to imagine that just two years ago American Airlines was just emerging from bankruptcy”, chairman and CEO Doug Parker told analysts and reporters.

Like other airlines, American says it will give refunds or rebook pregnant women who were planning trips to areas affected by the virus, which has been linked to birth defects in Brazil. And more importantly, what does it mean for the average person?

Many Wall Street Analysts have advised their investors on the company shares.LATAM Airlines Group SA (ADR) was Downgraded by Deutsche Bank on Jan 5, 2016 to Hold, Lowers Price Target to $ 6 from a previous price target of $8. American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL) has declined 9.71% since June 24, 2015 and is downtrending.

In large part because of a 40.8% drop in consolidated fuel expense, American reported that its total operating expenses in the October quarter were $8.6 billion, a 7.9% decline from that three month period in 2014.

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LFL): On Thursday heightened volatility was witnessed in LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LFL) which led to swings in the share price.

American added almost 3% to its available capacity in the third quarter of 2015 and another 0.6% in the fourth quarter. The latest figure excluded a $3 billion noncash benefit related to the reversal of a tax valuation allowance, a $592 million charge to write off Venezuelan currency held by the airline and $450 million of merger-related costs.

American has also cut fares to attract passengers in Dallas, Tex., where rival Southwest Airlines has aggressively expanded at Dallas Love Field.

Much of the American’s increased profitability can be attributed to 41% reduction in fuel costs, which translated into a savings of almost $4.4 billion.

Passenger revenue for each mile flown, a key industry measure, fell 8.9 percent versus the 2014 period.