AMR Corp, parent of American Airlines, today reported a fourth-quarter loss of $798 million after special items as a weak economy and concerns about security after the September 11th attacks took their toll on revenues at the world's biggest airline.
AMR also said it was bringing forward retirement of its fleet of Boeing 717 100-seater aircraft to June this year under an agreement with Boeing.
Excluding one-off items, mainly write-offs for idling planes and employee charges but also including government cash aid of $29 million in the wake of the September 11th attacks, AMR said the loss was $734 million or $4.75 per share, compared to earnings of $56 million or 34 cents a share a year earlier.
AMR said total operating revenues fell to $3.8 billion from $4.9 billion a year earlier.
Wall Street analysts had expected AMR to post a loss between $4.00 and $6.00 per share, with a mean estimated loss of $4.98 per share, according to research firm Thomson Financial/First Call.