The CEO of American Airlines is predicting a boom in revenue this summer, as people crowd on planes after two years of the pandemic.
CEO Robert Isom says second-quarter revenue will rise 11% to 13% above the same quarter in 2019. That's even rosier than previous forecasts.
This all comes during a shortage of pilots.
During the Bernstein Strategic Decisions investor conference in New York, Isom admitted that the airline had to park about 100 of its smaller regional jets.
About 1,000 of American’s 15,000 pilots took early retirement packages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paired with a large number of pilots slated to hit mandatory retirement age, it has left carriers such as American with a deficit of key employees.
But Isom believes the shortage is temporary.
"If there are the appropriate incentives and attracts people to the industry, this is something that can be remedied. And remedied over a fairly quick amount of time," Isom said.
Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and others have raised their revenue forecasts recently too, as the number of people flying in the United States hovers closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Airlines are offering fewer flights than they did in 2019, which is helping them push average fares much higher.
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