American Airlines executives say the airline has fully recaptured the 11 points of indirect market share it had lost when a corporate distribution strategy upset some corporate customers. The strategy was reversed in May of 2024. Speaking on a fourth quarter earnings call, Robert Isom, CEO, said, “We’ve fully restored our historical sales and distribution indirect share, with our focus now on further growth in 2026 and beyond.”

As the company moves through this year, said Isom, “we will continue to deepen the relationships that we’ve built with our corporate and agency partners and capture greater share among high-value corporate travelers and premium leisure customers.”

Devon May, CFO, said that in the fourth quarter of last year, the airline “continued to see strength in our indirect channel, with managed corporate revenue up 12% year over year, which has strengthened further so far in 2026.”

As has been the case with competitors in earnings calls, American’s premium revenue continued to be significant. Executives said premium per seat mile performance in the fourth quarter was superior to non-premium by 7 percentage points.

Fourth-quarter passenger revenue was nearly $12.7 billion, up 2.1% year over year, with total revenue up 2.5% for the period to $14 billion. Full-year passenger revenue was nearly $49.7 billion, up 0.1% compared with 2024, while total 2025 revenue was more than $54.6 billion, a 0.8% increase. 

American estimated that the government shutdown negatively affected revenue in the fourth quarter by $325 million.

The carrier’s net income for the fourth quarter was $99 million compared with $590 million a year prior. Full-year net income was $111 million, down from the $846 million reported in 2024. Fourth-quarter capacity increased 4.2% year over year and was up 2.2% for the full year.