FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – American Airlines and US Airways canceled more than 14,000 flights last month – more than double the rate from a year earlier – as winter storms disrupted air travel.
American Airlines Group Inc. said Monday that the cancellations hurt first-quarter profit, but didn’t give a figure. The company said it expects to provide more details in early April.
American Airlines Group Inc. is the holding company established as a result of the merger of American Airlines and US Airways.
Despite the storms, the company said, a key figure of revenue for every seat flown one mile rose between 2 percent and 4 percent in the first quarter. That statistic rises when an airline fills more seats or raises average fares.
American and US Airways canceled about 28,000 flights in the first two months of the year, up 164 percent from the same period in 2013 as storms hit hubs in Dallas, Chicago and elsewhere.
Despite the cancellations, traffic rose 0.5 percent, as passengers flew 15.08 billion miles last month, up from 15.01 billion in February 2013, the airline said.
American and US Airways boosted capacity by 0.8 percent, so the average flight was a bit less crowded; 78.4 percent full, down from 78.7 percent a year earlier. All of the capacity increase was on international flying.
American also said Monday it is ending its agreement with JetBlue Airways Corp. that allowed travelers on each airline to add connections to their itinerary on the other’s aircraft.
The termination of the interline sales agreement is effective March 10.
The companies also announced that they are ending a reciprocal frequent flyer program accrual agreement. Beginning April 1, travelers will no longer earn miles or points when traveling on eligible routes run by the other airline.
American AAdvantage miles or JetBlue TrueBlue points already accrued through the partnership will be credited to customers’ accounts and are not affected, American said in a news release on its corporate website.