American Airlines raises third-quarter revenue forecast

American Airlines said Tuesday that its third-quarter sales likely came in better than it previously expected, sending the company’s shares higher on the sign that a strong summer helped the carrier cover a jump in costs.

American shares were up more than 3% in premarket trading.

The airline’s revenue in the three months ended Sept. 30 will be up 13% from the same period of 2019, when it brought in $11.91 billion, the carrier said. That guidance is an increase from its July forecast for a 10% to 12% increase. American forecast a pretax margin of 4.5%, above an earlier estimate of no more than 4%.

While revenue will likely be above 2019 levels, the carrier said it flew 9.6% less than three years ago, near the low end of its range — another demonstration of how passengers are paying more to fly.

American is set to report quarterly results before the market opens on Oct. 20. Rival Delta Air Lines kicks off the sector’s reporting early Thursday.