AMR Turns Profit Again

For the fourth quarter, Arpey said he is "cautiously optimistic" because of the recent drop in fuel prices, 7.7% growth in mainline revenue per available seat mile and bookings that are trending about 1% ahead of last year.

"Fuel remains a wild card, and we continue to watch for the continued effect of the London security event," he said, referring to the August disruption of a terror plot aimed at airlines.

American filled a record 81.7% of its seats during the quarter. Mainline cost per available seat mile, excluding fuel and special items, rose 1% to 7.43 cents. Although the company reduced its projected fuel cost for the second half of the year by $528 million, third-quarter fuel expenses still rose 11.9% to $1.8 billion. AMR's cash and short-term investment balance was $5.5 billion at the end of the quarter.

Asked whether American might follow Delta Air Lines(DALRQ) in its course of rapid international expansion, Arpey said the risk of those routes is a sharp dropoff in traffic after the summer.

"The airline business would be a great business if you just operated in June, July and August," he said.

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