Airlines Confidential · Wednesday, July 29, 2026
American Airlines reported $71 million in earnings for the second quarter, a significant decrease compared to Delta's $1.6 billion. The airline's operating margin of 2.7% was the lowest among the major carriers and saw the largest decline, down 6 percentage points year-over-year.
“American earned $71 million. Now, remember Delta earned $1.6 billion in the same three months.”
“American's operating margin of 2.7% was lower than Delta, United, or even Southwest.”
“American's operating margin was down 6% percentage points, uh, compared to last year, while Delta and United were down about half as much.”