Dive Brief:
- American Airlines executives touted its premium experiences and loyalty program gains on a Q1 2026 earnings call Thursday as rising fuel prices depressed overall earnings results.
- The carrier redesigned its loyalty experience on its mobile app to improve clarity and engagement. Those changes, along with the introduction of free Wi-Fi for AAdvantage members, encouraged sign-ups, according to CEO Robert Isom.
- Loyalty enrollments grew 25% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, led by customers in American hubs in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Dive Insight:
American is not the only airline facing severe headwinds as the war in Iran sends fuel prices skyrocketing. Delta Air Lines, Alaska Air Group, and United Airlines cited fuel costs as a drag on earnings and are leaning into premium, brand loyalty or rewards programs to offset impact.
American’s record first-quarter revenue of $13.9 billion wasn’t enough to counteract fuel costs to leave it in the green. The carrier reported a net loss of $382 million.
Premium and loyalty were relative bright spots. Managed corporate revenue increased 13% year over year in the first quarter.
“We continue to deepen the relationships we have with our corporate and agency partners and are capturing greater share among high-value customers,” Isom said. “Our customer base skews higher-end, and our customers have shown that they are willing to spend more for an improved travel experience.”
The airline is increasing premium capacity through new aircraft deliveries and retrofits, with lie-flat and premium economy seats growing more than twice as fast as main cabin seats in the quarter.
As part of its premium efforts, American said it would further segment its fare products, but did not provide details.
“We have already seen the impact of these efforts in our premium cabins, with paid load factors in business and premium economy at the highest levels in our history, up approximately 10 points versus 2019,” Isom said.
Earlier this month, United said it was introducing tiered fares in its premium cabin, and Delta executives on an earnings call shared that it was exploring the further segmentation of premium fares, too.
