Bankrupt American Airlines’ passenger revenue growth beats all other U.S. airlines for third month in a row

Strong passenger demand helped American Airlines post increased revenue in June for what it says is an industry-leading third consecutive month.

The Fort Worth-based airline, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, said planes were fuller as it operated fewer flights than last year. Executives said the airline increased its consolidated unit revenue 8.6 percent, buoyed by more corporate contracts and travel demand at its five hubs. Unit revenue is a key measure that tracks how much money an airline collects for every seat-mile flown.

“This is a proof point that our network strategy alongside our alliance strategy is starting to yield the results we were expecting and that we have always talked about,” said Virasb Vahidi, chief commercial officer, referring to American’s strategy to concentrate its arrivals and departures at its hubs at Chicago O’Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York JFK and Miami airports.

Vahidi said the airline saw improvements in all of its domestic hubs and in its international ventures with British Airways/Iberia Airlines and Japan Airlines.

The company reported that its passenger traffic dropped 1 percent compared with June 2011 and that capacity decreased by 2.6 percent. American’s consolidated load factor was 87.1 percent, up 1.4 percentage points.

Since filing for bankruptcy, the airline has posted improved monthly revenue results. In the first quarter, its unit revenue grew 10 percent as passengers paid higher fares for the same number of flights.

Andrea Ahles, 817-390-7631. Twitter: @Sky_Talk