American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) CEO Robert Isom has said that he hopes Congress will take action to end the ongoing government shutdown, which has impacted the aviation industry heavily.
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In Constant Contact With Sean Duffy, Says Robert Isom
Speaking to investors and analysts during the third-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Isom acknowledged the government shutdown and its impact on the aviation sector, adding that he was working with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
“We’re hopeful that action will be taken to reopen the government as soon as possible,” Isom said during the call. "I’ve been in constant contact with Secretary Duffy about the impact of the government shutdown and doing everything we can to mitigate," Isom shared, adding that the air traffic controllers, as well as TSA and CBP employees, were "keeping the air system running and airports running fairly well."
Isom also said that the shutdown had impacted operations at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Isom said that the airline operator has had some "difficulties in terms of operating delays and issues with air traffic control." However, Isom said that he was confident the issues were temporary.
He also shared that government travel, while an important source of revenue, still made up for less than $1 million per day. "I’m quite confident when the government reopens, there’s going to be some pent-up demand," Isom said.
American Airlines Earnings Defy Expectations
The news comes as American Airlines’ earnings report beat analyst consensus, reporting a record third-quarter revenue of $13.691 billion, beating Wall Street estimates of $13.628 billion. The company reported a loss of 17 cents per share, which beat the analyst estimate of an EPS loss of 28 cents per share.
Sean Duffy Says ATCs Turning To Gig Economy Amid Backpay Uncertainty
The comments follow Duffy saying that ATCs were turning to gig economy jobs like driving for DoorDash Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH) and Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) just to "put food on the table." He also criticized the Democratic Party leaders and urged them to reach an agreement to end the shutdown.
Meanwhile, uncertainty looms over the furloughed workers being issued backpay amid the government shutdown, as the Trump administration recently cited a 2019 backpay law, which says that furloughed government employees may not be guaranteed backpay once the shutdown ends.
Airlines For America CEO Calls For Patience
Airlines for America President and CEO, Christopher Sununu, called for patience among travelers and warned that things could get worse in the U.S. aviation sector in the coming days, as the sector has been plagued by delays. Duffy had also earlier urged ATCs working under the Department of Transportation (DoT) to get back to work.
According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, American Airlines offers satisfactory Momentum, Growth and Value. It also offers a favorable price trend in the Short and Medium terms.
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