ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Below are certain risk factors that may affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, or the trading price of our common stock or other securities. We caution the reader that these risk factors may not be exhaustive. We operate in a continually changing business environment, and new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time. Management cannot predict such new risks and uncertainties, nor can it assess the extent to which any of the risk factors below or any such new risks and uncertainties, or any combination thereof, may impact our business.
Risks Related to our Business and Industry
Downturns in economic conditions could adversely affect our business.
Due to the discretionary nature of business and leisure travel spending and the highly competitive nature of the airline industry, our revenues are heavily influenced by the condition of the U.S. economy and economies in other regions of the world. Unfavorable conditions in these broader economies have resulted, and may result in the future, in decreased passenger demand for air travel, changes in booking practices and related reactions by our competitors, all of which in turn have had, and may have in the future, a strong negative effect on our business. Furthermore, our efforts to increase travel revenue share, including corporate and travel agency revenue share, may not succeed and competitive pressures and shifts in corporate travel preferences could impede our ability to grow this revenue, negatively affecting our business strategy and financial results.
We will need to obtain sufficient financing or other capital to operate successfully.
Our business plan contemplates continued significant investments related to our fleet, improving the experience of our customers, updating our facilities and deploying technology. Significant capital resources will be required to execute this plan. We estimate that, based on our commitments as of December 31, 2025, our planned aggregate expenditures for aircraft purchase commitments and certain engines on a consolidated basis for calendar years 2026 through 2030 would be approximately $17.5 billion. We may also require financing to refinance maturing obligations and to provide liquidity to fund other corporate requirements. Accordingly, we will need substantial liquidity, financing or other capital resources to finance such aircraft and engines and meet such other liquidity needs. It may be difficult for us to raise additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all, due to, among other factors: our substantial level of existing indebtedness; our non-investment grade corporate credit rating; volatile or otherwise unfavorable market conditions; and the availability of corporate assets to use as collateral for loans or other indebtedness. If we are unable to arrange any such required financing at customary advance rates and on terms and conditions acceptable to us, we may need to use cash from operations or cash on hand to purchase aircraft and engines or fund our other corporate requirements, or may seek to negotiate deferrals for such aircraft and engines with the applicable manufacturers or otherwise corporate obligations. Depending on numerous factors applicable at the time we seek capital, many of which are out of our control, such as the state of the domestic and global economies, the capital and credit markets’ view of our prospects and the airline industry in general, prevailing interest rates, and the general availability of debt and equity capital, the financing or other capital resources that we will need may not be available to us, or may be available only on terms and conditions. Furthermore, we hold significant balances of cash and short-term investments, including as necessary to conduct our day-to-day operations, some of which are held in deposit accounts at commercial banks in excess of the government-provided deposit insurance, which could lead to the of such excess balances. There can be no assurance that we will be in obtaining financing or other needed sources of capital to operate or to fund our committed expenditures. An to obtain necessary financing on acceptable terms would limit our ability to execute necessary capital projects and would have a material impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our high level of debt and other obligations may limit our ability to fund general corporate requirements and obtain additional financing, may limit our flexibility in responding to competitive developments and may cause our business to be vulnerable to adverse economic and industry conditions.
We have significant amounts of indebtedness and other financial obligations, including obligations to make future payments on flight equipment and property leases related to airport and other facilities, and substantial non-cancelable obligations under aircraft and related spare engine purchase agreements. Moreover, currently a very significant portion of our assets are pledged to secure our indebtedness. Our substantial indebtedness and other obligations, which are generally greater than the indebtedness and other obligations of our competitors, could have important consequences. For example, they may:
• make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness;
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• limit our ability to obtain additional funding for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, investments and general corporate purposes, and adversely affect the terms on which such funding can be obtained;
• require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our liquidity or cash flow from operations to payments on our indebtedness and other obligations, thereby reducing the funds available for investment in our business and other purposes;
• make us more vulnerable to economic downturns, industry conditions and catastrophic external events, particularly relative to competitors with lower relative levels of financial leverage;
• significantly constrain our ability to respond, or respond quickly, to unexpected disruptions in our own operations, the U.S. or global economies, or the businesses in which we operate, or to take advantage of opportunities that would improve our business, operations, or competitive position versus other airlines;
• limit our ability to withstand competitive pressures and reduce our flexibility in responding to changing business and economic conditions;
• bear interest at floating rates, subjecting us to volatility in interest expenses as interest rates fluctuate;
• contain financial covenants, including the requirement to maintain an aggregate of at least $2.0 billion of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and amounts available to be drawn under revolving credit facilities, as well as collateral coverage ratios and peak debt service coverage ratios;
• impact availability of borrowings under revolving lines of credit; and
• contain restrictive covenants that could, among other things:
◦ limit our ability to merge, consolidate, sell assets, incur additional indebtedness, issue preferred stock, make investments and/or pay dividends; and
◦ if breached, result in an event of default under our other indebtedness.
Any additional future financing may include the issuance of additional unsecured or secured debt securities, equity securities and equity-linked securities as well as additional bilateral and syndicated secured and/or unsecured credit facilities, among other items. There can be no assurance as to the timing of any such financing transactions, which may be in the near term, or that we will be able to obtain such additional financing on favorable terms, or at all. Any such actions may be material in nature, could result in the incurrence and issuance of significant additional indebtedness or equity and could impose significant covenants and restrictions to which we are not currently subject. The significant number of financings with respect to which such restrictive covenants and provisions apply subjects us to substantial risk of cross-default and cross-acceleration in the event of breach, and additional covenants and provisions could become binding on us should we seek additional liquidity in the future.
The obligations discussed above, including those imposed as a result of any additional financings we may undertake, could also impact our ability to obtain additional financing, if needed, and our flexibility in the conduct of our business, and could materially adversely affect our liquidity, results of operations and financial condition.
Further, a substantial amount of our long-term indebtedness bears interest at floating interest rates, which tend to fluctuate based on general short-term interest rates, rates set by central banks, the supply of and demand for credit in treasury markets and general economic conditions. We have not entered into any derivative transactions to hedge our interest rate exposure. Accordingly, our interest expense for any particular period will fluctuate based on the relevant benchmark rate and other variable interest rates. To the extent the interest rates applicable to our floating rate debt increase, our interest expense will increase, in which event we may have difficulties making interest payments and funding our other fixed costs, and our available cash flow for general corporate requirements may be adversely affected.
I f our financial condition worsens, provisions in our credit card processing and other commercial agreements may adversely affect our liquidity.
We have agreements with companies that process customer credit card transactions for the sale of air travel and other services. These agreements allow these credit card processing companies, under certain conditions (including, for certain agreements, our failure to maintain certain levels of liquidity), to hold an amount of our cash (referred to as a holdback) equal to some or all of the advance ticket sales that have been processed by that credit card processor, but for which we
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have not yet provided the air transportation. Additionally, those credit card processing companies may require cash or other collateral reserves to be established. These holdback requirements can be implemented at the discretion of the credit card processing companies upon the occurrence of specific events, including material adverse changes in our financial condition or the triggering of a liquidity covenant. The imposition of holdback requirements, up to and including 100% of relevant advanced ticket sales, would materially reduce our liquidity. Likewise, some of our other commercial agreements contain provisions that allow counterparties to impose less-favorable terms, including the acceleration of amounts due, in the event of material adverse changes in our financial condition. For example, we maintain certain letters of credit as well as insurance- and surety-related agreements under which counterparties may require collateral, including cash collateral.
The loss of key personnel whom we depend on to operate our business, or the inability to attract, develop and retain additional qualified personnel could adversely affect our business.
We believe that our future success will depend in large part on our ability to attract, develop and retain highly qualified management, technical and other personnel. We may not be successful in attracting, developing or retaining key personnel or other highly qualified personnel. In addition, competition for skilled personnel has intensified and may continue to intensify if overall industry capacity continues to increase and/or we were to incur attrition at levels higher than we have incurred historically. Any inability to attract, develop and retain significant numbers of qualified management and other personnel would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business has been and will continue to be materially affected by many changing economic, geopolitical, commercial, regulatory and other conditions beyond our control, including global events that affect travel behavior, and our results of operations could be volatile and fluctuate materially due to changes in such conditions.
Our business, results of operations and financial condition have been and will continue to be affected by many changing economic, geopolitical, commercial, regulatory and other conditions beyond our control, including, among others:
• actual or potential changes in international, national, regional and local economic, business and financial conditions, including recession, inflation and elevated interest rates;
• wars or other conflicts and escalations thereof, terrorist attacks and geopolitical instability;
• changes in consumer disposable income, preferences, perceptions, spending patterns and demographics;
• changes in the competitive environment due to industry consolidation, changes in airline alliance affiliations and changes in our or our competitors’ commercial strategies;
• delays in scheduled aircraft deliveries, unexpected grounding of aircraft or aircraft engines by us or by regulators, or other loss of anticipated fleet capacity, and failure of new aircraft or aircraft-related equipment to receive regulatory approval, be produced or perform as and when expected;
• actual or potential disruptions to the U.S. National Airspace System (the ATC system), including due to a government shutdown;
• increases in costs of safety, security and environmental measures or costs of complying with new or more onerous consumer protection laws or regulations;
• increases in costs related to meeting our stated climate goals or obligations, including costs incurred to migrate to increase use of SAF in lieu of conventional aviation fuel;
• disruptions in global trade relations, such as increased tariffs or other trade barriers, that could create additional costs, new supply chain risks or a decrease in the demand for international air travel;
• increases in compliance burdens and costs associated with new and emerging national security regulations, including regulations related to access to certain categories of personal information;
• outbreaks of diseases or other public health or safety concerns that affect travel behavior, such as occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
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• adverse weather and natural disasters, including increases in frequency, severity or duration of such disasters, and related costs caused by more severe weather due to climate change.
An outbreak of any contagious disease, such as has occurred in the past with COVID-19, the Ebola virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, H1N1 influenza virus, avian flu, Zika virus or any other similar illness, if it becomes associated with air travel or persists for an extended period, could materially affect the airline industry and us by reducing revenues and adversely impacting our operations and passengers’ travel behavior. Governments could implement travel restrictions, including testing regimes, “stay at home” and quarantine orders, limitations on public gatherings, or cancellation of public events or take or mandate other actions that could significantly decrease demand for both domestic and international business and leisure travel. There can be no assurance that any mitigating actions we take in response will be sufficient to avert a deterioration in our business, financial condition and results of operations. As a result of these or other conditions beyond our control, our results of operations could be volatile and subject to rapid and unexpected changes.
The airline industry is intensely competitive and dynamic.
Our competitors include other major domestic airlines and foreign, regional and new entrant airlines, as well as joint ventures formed by some of these airlines, many of which have greater financial or other resources and/or lower cost structures than ours, as well as other forms of transportation, such as rail and private automobiles or alternatives to commuting or business travel including remote or flexible working policies and communication alternatives such as videoconferencing. In many of our markets, we compete with at least one low-cost carrier (including so-called ultra-low-cost carriers). Our revenues are sensitive to the actions of other carriers in many areas, including pricing, scheduling, capacity, fees (including cancellation, change and baggage fees), amenities, loyalty benefits and promotions, which can have a substantial adverse effect on our and industry revenues. These factors may become even more significant when the industry experiences large losses, as airlines under financial stress, or in bankruptcy, may institute pricing or fee structures intended to attract more customers to achieve near-term survival at the expense of long-term viability.
Low-cost carriers (including so-called ultra-low-cost carriers) have a profound impact on industry revenues. Using the advantage of low unit costs, these carriers offer lower fares in order to shift demand from larger, more established airlines, and represent significant competitors, particularly for customers who fly infrequently or are price sensitive and therefore tend not to be loyal to any one particular carrier. These low-cost carriers are attempting to continue to increase their market share through growth and consolidation and are expected to continue to affect our revenues and overall performance. We and several other large network carriers have implemented “Basic Economy” fares designed to more effectively compete against low-cost carriers, but we cannot predict whether these initiatives will be successful. Low-cost carriers may also implement, and in some cases have implemented, changes to their strategies or business models that could, and in some cases have, put them in more direct competition with network carriers. Moreover, we may have to compete with other carriers emerging from bankruptcy with lower cost structures. While historically these carriers have provided competition in domestic markets, we have recently experienced new competition from low-cost carriers on international routes, including low-cost airlines executing international long-haul expansion strategies, a trend likely to continue with the introduction of long-range narrowbody aircraft. Additionally, other carriers focused on premium passenger travel are attempting to implement growth strategies. The actions of existing or future carriers, including those described above, could have a material effect on our operations and financial performance.
In certain instances, other air carriers operate scheduled service with a business model that relies on FAA Part 135, a regulatory environment that is generally less stringent than the rules applicable to our airline and similar airlines that operate under FAA Part 121, and which provides those airlines certain competitive advantages that Part 121 airlines cannot replicate. We have objected to the DOT and the TSA that the less stringent Part 135 rules were never intended as a basis for scheduled passenger service and that business model should not be permissible, and the agencies’ review is ongoing. While both the DOT and the TSA are actively reviewing these operations, if they ultimately allow scheduled passenger service in any form under Part 135 and the actions of existing or future carriers using that business model, including those described above, it could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We provide air travel internationally directly as well as through joint businesses, strategic alliances, codeshare and similar arrangements to which we are a party. While our network is comprehensive, compared to some of our key global competitors, we generally have somewhat greater relative exposure to certain regions (for example, Latin America) and somewhat lower relative exposure to others (for example, Asia). Our financial performance relative to our key competitors will therefore be influenced significantly by macro-economic conditions in particular regions around the world and the relative exposure of our network to the markets in those regions, including the duration of any declines in demand for
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travel to specific regions as a result of health emergencies, geopolitical instability or other factors, and the speed with which demand for travel to these regions returns.
Our international service exposes us to foreign economies and the potential for reduced demand when any foreign country we serve suffers adverse local economic conditions or if governments restrict commercial air services to or from any of these markets. In addition, “open skies” agreements, which are now in place with a substantial number of countries around the world, provide international airlines with open access to U.S. markets, potentially subjecting us to increased competition on our international routes. See also “ Our business is subject to extensive government regulation, which may increase our costs, disrupt our operations, limit our operating flexibility, reduce the demand for air travel, and create competitive disadvantages.”
To the extent alliances formed by our competitors can undertake activities not available to us, including regulatory approvals, access slots, gates and routes and other matters, our ability to effectively compete may be hindered. Our ability to attract and retain customers is dependent upon, among other things, our ability to offer our customers convenient access to desired markets. Our business could be adversely affected if we are unable to maintain or obtain alliance and marketing relationships with other air carriers in desired markets.
American has established a transatlantic joint business with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Finnair, a transpacific joint business with Japan Airlines and a joint business relating to Australia and New Zealand with Qantas Airways. We have also established a strategic alliance with Alaska Airlines relating to certain routes and a strategic alliance relating to the Middle East with Qatar Airways. Legal challenges to our joint businesses and strategic alliances could negatively impact our operations and equity value, disrupt our strategic plans and affect our ability to offer competitive services in key markets. In July 2010, in connection with a regulatory review related to our transatlantic joint business, we provided certain commitments to the EC regarding, among other things, the availability of take-off and landing slots at LHR or LGW. The commitments accepted by the EC were binding for 10 years. In anticipation of both the exit of the UK from the EU, commonly referred to as Brexit, and the expiration of the EC commitments in July 2020, the CMA, in October 2018, opened an investigation into the transatlantic joint business. In September 2020 and April 2022, the CMA adopted interim measures that extend the EC commitments until March 2026 in light of the uncertainty and other impacts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2025, the CMA accepted binding commitments and the case. The commitments will replace the prior interim measures. These arrangements are important aspects of our international network, and we are dependent on the performance and continued cooperation of the other airlines party to those arrangements.
In December 2022, two putative class action lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleging that American and JetBlue violated U.S. antitrust law in connection with the previously disclosed Northeast Alliance arrangement. In February 2023, private party plaintiffs filed two additional putative class action antitrust complaints against American and JetBlue in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, respectively. All cases have since been consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. We believe these complaints are without merit and are defending against them vigorously.
No assurances can be given as to any benefits that we may derive from any of the foregoing arrangements or any other arrangements that may ultimately be implemented, or whether regulators will, or if granted continue to, approve or impose material conditions on our business activities.
Other mergers and other forms of airline partnerships, including regulatory approvals such as antitrust immunity grants, may take place and may not involve us, or could result in unforeseen impacts on the industry generally and our company in particular. Depending on which carriers combine or integrate and which assets, if any, are sold or otherwise transferred to other carriers in connection with any such transactions, our competitive position relative to the post-transaction carriers or other carriers that acquire such assets could be harmed. In addition, as carriers combine through traditional mergers or integrate their operations through other arrangements, their route networks will grow, and that growth will result in greater overlap with our network, which in turn could decrease our overall market share and revenues. Such combination or collaboration is not limited to the U.S. but could include transactions among international carriers in Europe and elsewhere that result in broader networks offered by rival airlines.
Additionally, our AAdvantage program, which is an important element of our business, faces significant and increasing competition from the loyalty programs offered by other travel companies, as well as from similar loyalty benefits offered by banks and other financial services companies. Competition among loyalty programs is intense regarding the rewards, fees, required usage, and other terms and conditions of these programs. In addition, we have used certain assets from
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our AAdvantage program as collateral for the AAdvantage Financing (defined in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements to this Annual Report on Form 10-K), which contains covenants that impose restrictions on certain amendments or changes to certain of our AAdvantage program agreements provided as collateral under the AAdvantage Financing and other aspects of the AAdvantage program. These competitive factors and covenants (to the extent applicable) may affect our ability to attract and retain customers, increase usage of our loyalty program and maximize the revenue generated by our loyalty program. Further, we rely on partners to provide available space for mileage credit redemptions on their aircraft. Should partners not make available enough inventory within their cabins for our members, the attractiveness of our program may be decreased, potentially impacting customer loyalty and program revenue.
We may also be impacted by regulations affecting certain of our major commercial partners, including our co-branded credit card partner, or our loyalty program. For example, there has been bipartisan legislation proposed in Congress called the Credit Card Competition Act designed to increase credit card transaction routing options for merchants which, if enacted, could result in a material reduction of the fees levied on credit card transactions. Additionally, the executive branch recently proposed a temporary 10% cap on credit card interest rates and called on Congress to pass legislation establishing a cap. If either of these proposals were enacted through legislation or regulation, they could fundamentally alter the profitability of our agreement with our co-branded credit card partner and the benefits we provide to our consumers through the co-branded credit cards issued by our partner. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cautioned companies in December 2024 against what it views as illegal or unlawful credit card practices, including purported devaluation of earned points, hidden conditions and failure to deliver promised benefits. If regulatory or legislative efforts to impose restrictions on airline loyalty programs and regulations credit card point devaluations were , they could materially reduce the revenues we derive from the AAdvantage program and impact our results of operations.
Union disputes, employee strikes and other labor-related disruptions may adversely affect our operations and financial performance.
Relations between air carriers and labor unions in the U.S. are governed by the RLA. Under the RLA, CBAs generally contain “amendable dates” rather than expiration dates, and the RLA requires that a carrier maintain the existing terms and conditions of employment following the amendable date through a multi-stage and usually lengthy series of bargaining processes overseen by the NMB. As of December 31, 2025, approximately 86% of our employees were represented for collective bargaining purposes by labor unions, and 15% were covered by CBAs that are currently amendable or that will become amendable within one year. For the dates that the CBAs with our major work groups become amendable under the RLA, see “Labor Relations” under Part I, Item 1. Business – “Sustainability – Our People .”
In the case of a CBA that is amendable under the RLA, if no agreement is reached during direct negotiations between the parties, either party may request that the NMB appoint a federal mediator. The RLA prescribes no timetable for the direct negotiation and mediation processes, and it is not unusual for those processes to last for many months or even several years. If no agreement is reached in mediation, the NMB in its discretion may declare that an impasse exists and proffer binding arbitration to the parties. Either party may decline to submit to arbitration, and if arbitration is rejected by either party, a 30-day “cooling off” period commences. During or after that period, a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) may be established, which examines the parties’ positions and recommends a solution. The PEB process lasts for 30 days and is followed by another 30-day “cooling off” period. At the end of this “cooling off” period, unless an agreement is reached or action is taken by Congress, the labor organization may exercise “self-help,” such as a strike, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
None of the unions representing our employees presently may lawfully engage in concerted slowdowns or refusals to work, such as strikes, sick-outs or other similar activity, against us. Nonetheless, there is a risk that employees, either with or without union involvement, could engage in one or more concerted refusals to work that could individually or collectively harm the operation of our airline and impair our financial performance. Additionally, some of our unions have brought and may continue to bring grievances to binding arbitration, including those related to wages. If successful, there is a risk these arbitral avenues could result in material additional costs that we did not anticipate.
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Personnel shortages, and general wage inflation have impacted and are expected to continue to impact our labor costs. We have agreements with the unions representing mainline pilots, flight attendants, passenger service team members, and mechanic and fleet service workgroups. These agreements include significant increases in pay and benefits compared to the prior agreements, in many cases in line with agreements concluded by our large network competitors with their unions. We remain in negotiations for other new labor agreements and anticipate that any new contracts we agree to with our labor groups will include increases in salaries and other benefits, which will increase our labor expense.
If we encounter problems with any of our third-party regional operators or third-party service providers, our operations could be adversely affected by a resulting decline in revenue or negative public perception about our services.
A significant portion of our regional operations are conducted by third-party operators on our behalf and are principally provided for under capacity purchase agreements. Due to our reliance on third parties to provide these essential services, we are subject to the risk of disruptions to their operations, which has in the past and may in the future result from many of the same risk factors disclosed in this report, such as the impact of adverse economic conditions, the inability of third parties to hire or retain skilled personnel, and other risk factors, such as an out-of-court or bankruptcy restructuring of any of our regional operators. Several of these third-party regional operators provide significant regional capacity that we would be unable to replace in a short period of time should that operator fail to perform its obligations to us. Disruptions to capital markets, labor difficulties, shortages of pilots, mechanics and other skilled personnel and economic conditions in general have certain of these third-party regional operators to significant financial pressures, which have in the past and may in the future lead to among these operators. Periods of in travel demand have the potential to affect our regional operators, some of whom may experience significant financial , declare or otherwise to operate. We may also experience to our regional operations or incur financial if we the capacity purchase agreement with one or more of our current operators or transition the services to another provider. Any significant to our regional operations would have a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, our reliance upon others to provide essential services on our behalf in our operations may result in our relative inability to control the efficiency and timeliness of contract services. We have entered into agreements with contractors to provide various facilities and services required for our operations, including distribution and sale of airline seat inventory, reservations, provision of information technology and services, regional operations, aircraft maintenance, fueling, catering, ground services and facilities and baggage handling. Similar agreements may be entered into in any new markets we decide to serve. These agreements are generally subject to termination after notice by the third-party service provider. We are also at risk should one of these service providers cease operations temporarily or permanently, and there is no guarantee that we could replace these providers on a timely basis with comparably priced providers, or at all. These third parties have faced challenges retaining and recruiting people with the appropriate skills to meet our requirements. We rely on the operation of complex supply chains and a large number of third parties for the procurement and fulfillment of parts, components, consumable or disposable goods and other products and services essential to our business. We cannot guarantee that, as a result of ongoing or future supply chain or staffing , we, our third-party partners, or the airports we serve will be to timely source all of the products and services we require in the course of our business, or that we will be in procuring suitable alternatives. Any material with the adequacy, and timeliness of contract services, resulting from financial , personnel or otherwise, could have a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Any damage to our reputation or brand image could adversely affect our business or financial results.
Maintaining a good reputation globally is critical to our business. Our reputation or brand image could be adversely impacted by, among other things, any failure to maintain high ethical, social and environmental sustainability practices for all of our operations and activities, our impact on the environment, public pressure from investors or policy groups to change our policies, customer perceptions of our advertising campaigns, sponsorship arrangements or marketing programs, customer perceptions of our use of social media, customer concerns in the nature of “greenwashing” allegations that may surround any of our advertising campaigns, marketing programs or commercial offerings related to our sustainability initiatives, or customer perceptions of statements made by us, our employees and executives, agents or other third parties. In addition, we operate in a highly visible industry that has significant exposure to social media. Negative publicity, including as a result of misconduct by our customers, vendors or employees, can spread rapidly through social media. Should we not respond in a timely and appropriate manner to address negative publicity, our brand and reputation may be significantly . to our reputation or brand image or of customer confidence in
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our services could adversely affect our business and financial results, as well as require additional resources to rebuild our reputation.
Moreover, an outbreak and spread of an infectious disease could adversely impact consumer perceptions of the health and safety of travel, and in particular airline travel, such as occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Actual or perceived risk of infection on our flights could have a material adverse effect on the public’s perception of us and may harm our reputation and business. We have in the past, and may in the future, be required to take extensive measures to reassure our team members and the traveling public of the safety of air travel, and we could incur significant costs implementing safety, hygiene-related or other actions to limit the actual or perceived threat of infection among our employees and passengers. However, we cannot assure that any actions we might take in response to an infectious disease outbreak will be sufficient to restore the confidence of consumers in the safety of air travel. We have experienced incidences of aggressive customer behavior and physical confrontation on our flights in the past, certain of which resulted in injuries to our personnel, and we may experience such behavior in the future. If our employees feel or believe that we are not doing enough to prevent and such , we could experience higher rates of employee or and we may reputational which could make it more to attract and retain employees, and which could in turn affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are at risk of losses and adverse publicity stemming from any public incident involving our company, our people or our brand, including any accident or other public incident involving our personnel or aircraft, or the personnel or aircraft of our regional, codeshare or joint business operators.
We are at risk of adverse publicity from any public incident involving our company, our people or our brand, particularly given the ease with which individuals can now capture and rapidly disseminate information via social media. Such an incident could involve the actual or alleged behavior of any of our employees, contractors or passengers. On January 29, 2025, American Eagle flight 5342 was involved in a fatal accident in Washington, D.C. The Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft operated by PSA was en route to Washington, D.C. from Wichita, Kansas, when it was involved in a midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. We estimate that the accident reduced first quarter 2025 total operating revenues by approximately $200 million, and the families of multiple passengers have filed lawsuits against the U.S. Government, PSA and American seeking unspecified damages. If other aircraft in our fleet or aircraft operated under our brand, were to be involved in an accident, or if our personnel, one of our aircraft, a type of aircraft in our fleet, or the personnel or aircraft of one of our regional operators or an airline with which we have a marketing , joint business or codeshare relationship were to be involved in a public , , or regulatory enforcement action, we could be to significant reputational and potential legal liability. The insurance we carry may be inapplicable or to cover any such , , or action. In the event that our insurance is inapplicable or , we may be to bear substantial from an or . In addition, any such future , , or action involving our personnel, one of our aircraft (or personnel and aircraft of our regional operators, marketing , joint business and codeshare partners), or a type of aircraft in our fleet could create an public perception, which could our reputation, result in air travelers being to fly on our aircraft or those of our regional operators, marketing , joint business or codeshare partners, and impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Changes to our business model that are designed to increase revenues and reduce costs may not be successful and may cause operational difficulties or decreased demand.
We have in the past instituted, and intend to institute in the future, changes to our business model designed to increase revenues and offset costs. These measures include further segmentation of the classes of service we offer, such as Premium Economy service and Basic Economy service, enhancements to our AAdvantage program, charging separately for services that had previously been included within the price of a ticket, changes to our practices and contracts with providers of distribution systems to provide additional content flexibility, commercial practices related to ticket distribution channels, including efforts by us to migrate an increasing portion of our customers to our modern, direct distribution channels in lieu of third party channels, changing (whether it be increasing, decreasing or eliminating) other pre-existing fees, reconfiguration of our aircraft cabins, and efforts to optimize our network including by focusing growth on a limited number of large hubs and entering into agreements with other airlines. For example, in 2020, we eliminated change fees for most domestic and international tickets, which has reduced our change fee revenue, a trend which is expected to continue assuming this policy remains in place. In addition, during the second quarter of 2024 we concluded that certain changes to our distribution strategy contributed to softness in customer bookings relative to our expectations and we reversed many of these measures late in the quarter, and in 2026, we stopped charging for Wi-Fi on most aircraft for AAdvantage members. We may introduce additional initiatives in the future; however, as time goes on, we expect that it will be more to identify and implement additional initiatives. We cannot that these measures or any future
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initiatives will be successful in increasing our revenues or offsetting our costs. Additionally, the implementation of these initiatives may create logistical challenges that could harm the operational performance of our airline or result in decreased demand. Also, our implementation of any new or increased fees, or changes to the operation of or benefits offered by our loyalty program, could reduce the demand for air travel on our airline or across the industry in general, particularly if weakened economic conditions make our customers more sensitive to increased travel costs or provide a significant competitive advantage to other carriers that determine not to institute similar changes. Such changes could result in adverse brand perceptions, reputational harm or regulatory scrutiny. If regulatory or legislative efforts to impose restrictions on airline loyalty programs were successful, they could materially reduce the revenues we derive from the AAdvantage program and adversely impact our results of operations.
Our intellectual property rights, particularly our branding rights, are valuable, and any inability to protect them may adversely affect our business and financial results.
We consider our intellectual property rights, particularly our branding rights such as our trademarks applicable to our airline and AAdvantage program, to be a significant and valuable aspect of our business. We protect our intellectual property rights through a combination of trademark, copyright and other forms of legal protection, contractual agreements and policing of third-party misuses of our intellectual property. Our failure to obtain or adequately protect our intellectual property or any change in law that lessens or removes the current legal protections of our intellectual property may diminish our competitiveness and adversely affect our business and financial results. Any litigation or disputes regarding intellectual property may be costly and time-consuming and may divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations, either of which may adversely affect our business and financial results.
In addition, we use certain of our branding and intellectual property as collateral for various financings, including the AAdvantage Financing, which contain covenants that impose restrictions on the use of such intellectual property and, in the case of the AAdvantage Financing, on certain amendments or changes to our AAdvantage program. These covenants may have an adverse effect on our ability to use such intellectual property.
We may be a party to litigation in the normal course of business or otherwise, which could affect our financial position and liquidity.
From time to time, we are a party to or otherwise involved in legal proceedings, claims and government inspections or investigations and other legal matters, both inside and outside the United States, arising in the ordinary course of our business or otherwise. We are currently involved in various legal proceedings and claims that have not yet been fully resolved, and additional claims may arise in the future. Legal proceedings can be complex and take many months, or even years, to reach resolution, with the final outcome depending on a number of variables, some of which are not within our control. Litigation is subject to significant uncertainty and may be expensive, time-consuming, and disruptive to our operations. Although we will vigorously defend ourselves in such legal proceedings, their ultimate resolution and potential financial and other impacts on us are uncertain. For these and other reasons, we may choose to settle legal proceedings and claims, regardless of their actual merit. If a legal proceeding is resolved against us, it could result in significant compensatory , and in certain circumstances or trebled , of revenue or profits, remedial corporate measures or injunctive relief imposed on us. If our existing insurance does not cover the amount or types of awarded, or if other resolution or actions taken as a result of the legal proceeding were to restrain our ability to operate or market our services, our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows could be materially affected. In addition, legal proceedings, and any resolution thereof, can result in publicity and to our reputation, which could impact our business. Additional information regarding certain legal matters in which we are involved can be found in Note 11(e) to AAG’s Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8A and Note 10(e) to American’s Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8B.
We rely heavily on technology and automated systems, including AI, to operate our business and any failure of these technologies or systems could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are highly dependent on existing and emerging technology and automated systems, including AI, to operate our business. These technologies and systems include but may not be limited to our computerized airline reservation system, flight operations and crew scheduling systems, financial planning, management and accounting systems, telecommunications systems, website, maintenance systems and check-in kiosks. In order for our operations to work efficiently, our website and reservation system must be able to accommodate a high volume of traffic, maintain secure information and deliver flight information, as well as issue electronic tickets and process critical financial information in a timely manner. Substantially all of our tickets are issued to passengers as electronic tickets. We depend on our reservation system, which is hosted and maintained under a long-term contract by a third-party service provider, to be
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able to issue, track and accept these electronic tickets. If our technologies or automated systems are not functioning or if our third-party service providers were to fail to adequately provide technical support, system maintenance or timely software upgrades for any one of our key existing systems, we could experience service disruptions or delays, which could harm our business and result in the loss of important data, increase our expenses and decrease our revenues. Furthermore, certain critical aspects of our operation rely on legacy technological systems which may grow more difficult or expensive to support and maintain over time, and such systems may fail to perform as required or become more vulnerable to malfunction or failure over time. In the event that one or more of our primary technology or systems vendors goes into , operations or to perform as promised, replacement services may not be readily available on a timely basis, at competitive rates or at all, and any transition time to a new system may be significant.
Our aircraft employ a number of sophisticated radio and satellite-based navigation and safety technologies, and we are subject to risks associated with the introduction or expansion of technologies that could interfere with the safe operation of these flight systems. For example, telecommunications companies are expanding and increasing the commercial and consumer applications of 5G cellular communication networks, and regulators, manufacturers and operators have expressed concerns that certain 5G applications could interfere with certain flight systems. In December 2021, the FAA issued a special airworthiness information bulletin (SAIB), in which it indicated that further testing and assessment is needed regarding the effects of 5G on certain aircraft equipped with radar altimeters, which measure the aircraft’s altitude and guide pilots during landings. While the FAA and the telecommunications industry reached an agreement to delay the full implementation of 5G deployment near airports until 2028, there could be future impacts once the current agreement expires. Additionally, there has been an increase in the reported use of jamming or “spoofing” technologies by bad actors intended to disrupt the operation of GPS navigation and other flight systems by relaying fake or erroneous flight information and signals to crews. These technologies could pose risks to the safe operation of aircraft by pilots’ attention and potentially resulting in operational .
Our technologies and automated systems are not completely protected against events that are beyond our control, including natural disasters, power failures, terrorist attacks, cyberattacks, data theft, defects, errors, equipment and software failures, computer viruses or telecommunications failures. For example, the CrowdStrike-caused systems outage in July 2024 significantly impacted airline operations, including our own, and forced several carriers to ground flights for a prolonged period and incur significant costs associated with reaccommodating and compensating affected passengers. Similarly, in September 2025, hundreds of our flights were delayed or cancelled out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) when FAA fiberoptic cables were accidentally by a third party. When service occur as a result of any of the aforementioned events, we address them in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. However, substantial or sustained system could cause service or and result in our customers purchasing tickets from other airlines. We cannot that our security measures, change control procedures or recovery plans are adequate to prevent or . in or changes to these technologies or systems could result in a to our business and the of important data. Any of the foregoing could result in a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Additionally, new technologies, such as the use of AI and machine learning, present evolving and significant legal and operational risks for us and our third-party vendors. We use AI and machine learning technologies, including those licensed from third parties, in our technologies and our ability to continue to use such technologies at the scale may depend on access to specific third-party software and infrastructure. We cannot control the availability or pricing of such third-party AI and machine learning technologies, especially in a highly competitive environment, and we may be unable to negotiate favorable economic terms with the applicable providers. If any such third-party AI and machine learning technologies become incompatible with our solutions or are unavailable for use, or if the providers of such models unfavorably change the terms on which their AI technologies are offered or terminate their relationship with us, our solutions may become less appealing to our customers, and our business will be harmed. In addition, to the extent any third party AI and machine learning technologies are used as a hosted service, any disruption, , or of information through such hosted services could our operations or solutions, our reputation, cause a of confidence in our solutions, or result in legal or proceedings, for which we may be to recover from the affected provider.
We expect that increased investment will be required in the future to continuously improve our use of AI (including generative AI) and machine learning technologies. As with many technological innovations, there are significant risks involved in developing, maintaining and deploying these technologies and there can be no assurance that the usage of our investments in such technologies will always enhance our products or services or be beneficial to our business, including our efficiency or profitability. Additionally, the development of generative AI technologies is complex, with practical and competitive challenges in achieving desired accuracy, efficiency and reliability. Generative AI training
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content, algorithms, models, software and other related systems may have limitations, including biases, errors or inability to process or restrict certain data types or scenarios. In particular, if the models underlying our AI and machine learning technologies are incorrectly designed or implemented, or used without sufficient oversight and governance to ensure their responsible use, the performance of our business, as well as our reputation could suffer or we could incur liability resulting from the violation of laws or contracts to which we are a party or civil claims. Further, there is a risk of system failures, disruptions or vulnerabilities compromising the confidentiality of personal data and intellectual property, or the integrity or availability of training content, input content and prompts, as well as generated content, including disinformation and deepfakes. Use of AI technologies could also expose us to intellectual property risks, such as of of third-party patents or copyrights, which could result in significant fees or . Our competitors or other third parties may incorporate AI into their products or services more quickly or more than us, which could our ability to compete effectively. AI also presents emerging ethical issues, and if our use of AI becomes , we may experience brand or reputational , competitive or legal liability. For example, with the increased use of AI and social media, publicity, even if , can be disseminated quickly and broadly without context, making it increasingly for us to effectively respond. The rapid evolution of AI, including existing and proposed government regulation, may require significant resources to develop, test and maintain our AI technologies and services to ensure compliance and minimize impacts. Any or relating to any of the foregoing could result in reputational , legal liabilities or of customer confidence. There can be no assurance that the usage of AI will our strategies or initiatives.
Evolving data privacy requirements (in particular, compliance with applicable federal, state and foreign laws relating to handling of personal information about individuals) could increase our costs, and any significant cybersecurity incident could disrupt our operations, harm our reputation, expose us to legal risks and otherwise materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In the normal course of our business, we collect, process, use and disclose personal information about individuals and rely on third party service providers to host or otherwise process personal information. Many federal, state and foreign governmental bodies and agencies have adopted, or are considering adopting, laws and regulations that impose limits on the collection, processing, use, disclosure and security of personal information about individuals. In some cases, such laws and regulations can be enforced by private parties in addition to government entities. In addition, privacy advocacy and industry groups may propose new and different self-regulatory standards or guidance that may legally or contractually apply to us and our vendors. These non-uniform laws, regulations, standards and guidance are complex and currently evolving and can be subject to significant change and interpretation, and may be inconsistently applied and enforced from one jurisdiction to another.
Our business requires the secure processing and storage of personal information relating to our customers, employees, business partners and others, and other data such as confidential information. However, like any global enterprise operating in today’s digital business environment, we and our third party service providers have experienced cybersecurity incidents and data breaches. We react and respond to these cybersecurity incidents in accordance with the applicable legal requirements, our own cybersecurity protocols, as well as our commercial partners’ standards (as appropriate), but we cannot ensure that our responses (or those of our partners and service providers) will be sufficient to prevent or mitigate the potential adverse impacts of these cybersecurity incidents, which may be material.
There has been heightened legislative and regulatory focus on AI, data privacy and cybersecurity in the U.S., EU, U.K., China and elsewhere, particularly with respect to critical infrastructure providers, including those in the transportation sector. For example, in March 2024, the DOT launched a privacy review of the ten largest U.S. airlines’ collection, handling, maintenance and use of passengers’ personal information, indicating the DOT may seek to increase its regulation, investigation, and enforcement of airlines’ privacy practices, including ours. As a result, we must comply with a proliferating and fast-evolving set of legal requirements in this area, including substantive data privacy and cybersecurity standards as well as requirements for notifying regulators and affected individuals in the event of a cybersecurity incident. In addition, we are subject to an increasing number of reporting obligations in respect of certain cybersecurity incidents. These reporting requirements have been proposed or implemented by a number of regulators in different jurisdictions, may vary in their scope and application, and could contain conflicting requirements. Certain of these rules and regulations may require us to report a cybersecurity incident before we have been able to fully assess its impact or remediate the underlying issue. Efforts to comply with such reporting requirements could management’s attention from our cybersecurity response and could potentially reveal system to actors. to timely report cybersecurity under these rules could also result in regulatory , , monetary , sanctions, or subject us to other forms of liability.
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Additionally, in 2024, the National Security Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a new rule, referred to as the “Data Security Program” (DSP), to implement Executive Order 14117 aimed at preventing access to “bulk U.S. sensitive personal data” and “government-related data” by “countries of concern” (including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela) and so-called “covered persons.” The DSP imposes stringent obligations on companies that engage in transactions with persons and companies with a connection to countries of concern including by prohibiting or restricting certain data transfers and data transactions. The DSP is new, complex and has yet to be enforced, and as such, there is a risk that our interpretation of its applicability, scope, and requirements is incorrect, incomplete, or misapplied. Compliance with the DSP may require us to invest heavily in data security and compliance measures, such as implementing and complying with certain security requirements and guidelines and other burdensome recordkeeping, reporting, and auditing requirements. It may also require us to implement new processes, stop or restrict certain data transfers, alter the geographic scope of our operations, doing business with certain third parties or using certain tools or vendors, or change how data flows throughout our business, any of which could materially impact our business operations or our ability to grow our business. Finally, non-compliance with the DSP could result in significant civil or , which could materially affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Even though we believe we and our third-party service providers are generally in compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations relating to AI, data privacy and security, the regulatory environment is increasingly challenging as AI, data privacy and cybersecurity laws, rules, regulations, industry standards and other requirements are continually developing. These changing requirements, along with their evolving application, interpretation, and amendment, may present material obligations and risks to our business, including significantly expanded compliance burdens, costs and enforcement risks.
In addition, many of our commercial partners, including credit card companies, have imposed data security standards that we must meet. In particular, we are required by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, founded by the credit card companies, to comply with their highest level of data security standards (the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)). While we and our service providers continue our efforts to meet these standards, new and revised standards may be imposed that may be difficult for us to meet and could increase our costs, and if we are unable to comply with revised standards, we may be subject to fines, restrictions or other liability, which could materially and adversely affect our business. Moreover, it is not guaranteed that PCI DSS compliance will prevent illegal or improper use of our payment systems or the theft, loss or misuse of payment card data or transaction information.
Litigation, claims and enforcement related to data privacy, biometrics and other provisions of state privacy laws may involve new interpretations of privacy laws. There has also been a noticeable increase in class actions in the U.S. wherein plaintiffs have utilized a variety of laws, including state wiretapping laws, in relation to companies’ use of tracking technologies, such as cookies and pixels. Compliance with these laws and regulations may be inconsistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, increasing the cost of compliance and our risk of liability from litigation. Any litigation, claims or enforcement actions to which we are or become a party could potentially result in substantial monetary damages or fines, and negative reputational impacts that cause us to lose existing or future customers, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are exposed to risks from cyberattacks, and any cybersecurity incidents involving us, our third-party service providers, or one of our AAdvantage partners or other business partners, could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Significant cybersecurity incidents involving us, our third-party service providers, or one of our AAdvantage partners or other business partners, have in the past and may in the future result in a range of potentially material negative consequences for us, including unauthorized access to, disclosure, modification, misuse, loss or destruction of company systems or data; theft of sensitive, regulated or confidential data, such as personal information or our intellectual property; the loss of functionality of critical systems through ransomware, denial of service or other cyberattacks; a diminished ability to retain or attract new customers; a deterioration in our relationships with business partners and other third parties; interruptions or failures in our technology systems; and business , service or system , to equipment and to persons or property. The methods used to obtain access, disable or service or systems are constantly evolving and may be to anticipate or to detect for long periods of time. The constantly changing nature of the means that we cannot and have not been to prevent all data security or of data, and there is a risk that our security measures will not be fully in the future. Similarly, we depend on the ability of our key commercial partners, including AAdvantage partners, other business partners, our regional carriers, distribution partners and technology vendors, to conduct their businesses in a manner that complies with applicable security standards and ensures their ability to perform on a timely basis. A security , including a to meet data security requirements, or other significant cybersecurity affecting one of our partners,
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interruptions or failures in our technology systems, could result in potentially material negative consequences for us, including loss of critical data, service interruptions, delays in operations, and the potential for fines, restrictions and expulsion from credit card acceptance programs. In addition, we use third party service providers to help us deliver services to customers. These service providers may store personal information, credit card information and/or other confidential information. Such information has been and will be the target of unauthorized access or subject to security breaches because of third-party action, employee error, malfeasance or otherwise. Any of these could (a) result in the loss of information, , indemnity obligations, expensive and cybersecurity and data notification requirements, to our reputation, regulatory , and other liability, or (b) have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The threat of cybersecurity incidents continues to increase as the frequency, intensity and sophistication of cyberattacks and intrusions increase around the world. The rapid evolution and increased adoption of AI and machine learning technologies may increase certain cybersecurity risks. To the extent AI and/or machine learning capabilities improve and are increasingly adopted, they may be used to identify vulnerabilities and craft increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity attacks. Vulnerabilities may be introduced from the use of AI and/or machine learning by us, our counterparties, vendors and other business partners and third-party providers.
Diverse threat actors, such as state-sponsored organizations, opportunistic hackers and hacktivists, as well as diverse attack vectors such as social engineering/phishing, use of AI techniques such as deepfakes, malware (including ransomware), malfeasance by insiders, human or technological error, denial of service attacks or exploitation of vulnerabilities, threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our and our third party service providers’ and business partners’ information systems, personal information and confidential information. For example, starting in 2025, a sophisticated and well-known threat actor began targeting the aviation industry using social engineering tactics. Geopolitical issues also continue to increase our cybersecurity risk and potential for cybersecurity incidents, for example, the conflict involving Russia and Ukraine, which has resulted in a heightened risk of companies like ours that have operations, vendors and/or supply chain providers located in or around the region of or are otherwise related to the . ongoing efforts to maintain and the security of our information systems and digital information, individuals, including employees, contractors, and external actors, may be to the security measures we put in place, and we may be to anticipate new techniques used for these attacks and intrusions, such as the use of AI applications, and implement adequate preventative measures. We, our business partners and service providers have been the target of cybersecurity attacks in the past and expect that we, our business and service partners, will continue to experience cybersecurity in the future.
The costs and operational consequences of defending against, preparing for, responding to and remediating a cybersecurity incident are substantial. As cybersecurity incidents become more frequent, intense and sophisticated, costs of proactive defense measures are increasing. Further, we could be exposed to litigation, regulatory enforcement or other legal action as a result of an incident, carrying the potential for damages, fines, sanctions or other penalties, as well as injunctive relief and enforcement actions requiring costly compliance measures. The airline industry, including other large airlines, have suffered a significant number of data privacy and cybersecurity incidents and these incidents have resulted in substantial financial consequences to those companies. A cybersecurity could also impact our brand, including that of the AAdvantage program, our reputation and impact our relationship with our customers, employees and stockholders. The increased regulatory focus on data privacy practices apart from how personal information is secured, such as how personal information is collected, used for marketing purposes, and shared with third parties – including with our AAdvantage and other business partners – also may require changes to our processes and increase compliance costs. There is also an increased risk to our business in the event of a significant cybersecurity or data privacy , including additional compliance costs, reputational , to the manner in which we provide our services, including the geographies we service, and being subject to and/or regulatory , significant monetary liability, , , regulatory enforcement, individual or class action lawsuits, public , of customers, of goodwill or other additional liabilities, such as by industry groups or other third parties. Accordingly, to appropriately address data privacy and cybersecurity issues could result in material financial and other liabilities and cause significant reputational to our company.
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New U.S. and international tax legislation may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We are subject to taxation at the federal, state and local levels in the United States, as well as taxation in international jurisdictions in which we operate. New taxes, rates and charges may be imposed from time to time that significantly increase our costs, reduce revenues or otherwise negatively impact our results of operations. The U.S. Government may enact significant changes to the taxation of business entities. For example, on July 4, 2025, the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), was signed into law, permanently extending many of the business tax provisions originally introduced in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. If, in the future, any additional changes to tax laws are implemented or new regulations and other IRS guidance are issued impacting existing tax laws, such changes or new regulations may give rise to new costs or other issues that we did not foresee. We are currently unable to predict the ultimate impact of any such changes or new regulations may have on our business and therefore there can be no assurance our business will not be adversely affected.
In recent years, numerous legislative, judicial and administrative changes have been made to international tax laws applicable to us and similar companies. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has issued numerous announcements regarding fundamental changes in allocation of profits among tax jurisdictions in which companies do business, as well as the implementation of a global minimum tax, referred to as the “Pillar One” and “Pillar Two” proposals. Many countries in which we operate have enacted or are in the process of enacting laws based on the Pillar Two proposal. On June 28, 2025, the G7 nations issued a statement indicating the G7’s commitment to a side-by-side system that would fully exclude U.S. parented groups from certain aspects of the Pillar Two framework in respect of both their domestic and foreign profits. On January 5, 2026, more than 145 countries in the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework agreed to have U.S.-headquartered companies remain subject to only U.S. global minimum taxes while exempting them from Pillar Two. This side-by-side agreement recognizes the tax sovereignty of the United States over the worldwide operations of U.S. companies and the tax sovereignty of other countries over business activity within their own borders. However, the precise contours of this side-by-side agreement as well as the details about its implementation by specific jurisdictions are uncertain. Therefore, even with this agreement, our effective tax rate and cash tax payments could increase in future years from efforts related to a global minimum tax.
We have a significant amount of goodwill, which is assessed for impairment at least annually. In addition, we may never realize the full value of our intangible assets or long-lived assets, causing us to record material impairment charges.
Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized, but are assessed for impairment at least annually, or more frequently if conditions indicate that an impairment may have occurred. In accordance with applicable accounting standards, we first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform a quantitative impairment test. In addition, we are required to assess certain of our other long-lived assets for impairment if conditions indicate that an impairment may have occurred.
Future impairment of goodwill, intangible assets or other long-lived assets could be recorded in results of operations as a result of changes in assumptions, estimates, or circumstances, some of which are beyond our control. There can be no assurance that a material impairment charge of goodwill or tangible or intangible assets will be avoided. The value of our aircraft could be impacted in future periods by changes in supply and demand for these aircraft. Such changes in supply and demand for certain aircraft types could result from grounding of aircraft by us or other airlines, including as a result of significant or prolonged declines in demand for air travel and corresponding reductions to capacity. We can provide no assurance that a material impairment loss of tangible or intangible assets will not occur in a future period; for example, we have previously incurred significant impairment charges associated with our decision to retire certain aircraft as a result of the severe decline in demand for air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the risk of future material remains uncertain. Such charges could have a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The commercial relationships that we have with other companies, including any related equity investments, may not produce the returns or results we expect.
An important part of our strategy to expand our network has been to initiate or expand our commercial relationships with other airlines, such as by entering into global alliance, joint business and codeshare relationships, and, in certain instances, including China Southern Airlines, GOL and JetSMART, by agreeing to make an equity investment in another airline in connection with initiating or expanding such a commercial relationship. We may explore additional investments in, and joint ventures and strategic alliances with, other carriers as part of our global business strategy. We face competition in forming and maintaining these commercial relationships since there are a limited number of potential
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arrangements and other airlines are looking to enter into similar relationships, and our inability to form or maintain these relationships, or inability to form as many of these relationships as our competitors, may have an adverse effect on our business. Any such existing or future investment could involve significant challenges and risks, including that we may not realize a satisfactory return on our investment, if any, or that they may not generate the expected revenue synergies, and they may distract management focus from our operations or other strategic options. We may also be subject to consequences from any illegal conduct of joint business partners as well as to any political or regulatory change that negatively impacts or prohibits our arrangements with any such business partners. In addition, volatility in demand for air travel, could materially disrupt our partners’ abilities to provide air service, the timely execution of our strategic operating plans, including the finalization, approval and implementation of new strategic relationships or the maintenance or expansion of existing relationships. For example, in August 2025, the U.S. Federal Court for the Southern District of New York approved GOL’s plan of reorganization, and as a result, we have substantially all of the value of our equity investment in GOL. If any other carriers with which we partner or in which we hold an equity stake were to trading or be declared , we could the value of any such investment or experience significant operational . These events could have a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may also from time-to-time pursue commercial relationships with companies outside the airline industry, which relationships may include equity investments or other financial commitments. Any such relationship or related investment could involve unique risks, particularly where these relationships involve new industry participants, emerging technologies or industries with which we are unfamiliar.
Our business is very dependent on the price and availability of aircraft fuel. Continued periods of high volatility in fuel costs, increased fuel prices or significant disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel could have a significant negative impact on consumer demand, our operating results and liquidity.
Our operating results are materially impacted by changes in the availability, price volatility and cost of aircraft fuel, which represents one of the largest single cost items in our business and thus is a significant factor in the price of airline tickets. Market prices for aircraft fuel have fluctuated substantially over the past several years and prices continue to be highly volatile, with market spot prices ranging from a low of approximately $1.83 per gallon to a high of approximately $3.82 per gallon during the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025. Aircraft fuel prices reflect not only the price of underlying crude oil, but also the price charged to refine crude oil into aircraft fuel (often referred to as the “crack spread”), transportation costs, handling costs and taxes, and increases in any of these underlying components would increase the price we ultimately pay for aircraft fuel.
Because of the very large amount of fuel needed to operate our business, even a relatively small increase or decrease in the price of fuel can have a material effect on our operating results and liquidity. Due to the competitive nature of the airline industry and unpredictability of the market for air travel, we can offer no assurance that we may be able to increase our fares, impose fuel surcharges or otherwise increase revenues or decrease other operating costs sufficiently to offset fuel price increases. Similarly, we cannot predict actions that may be taken by our competitors in response to changes in fuel prices.
We cannot predict the future availability, price volatility or cost of aircraft fuel, weather-related events, natural disasters (including hurricanes or similar events in the U.S. Southeast and on the Gulf Coast where a significant portion of domestic refining capacity is located), terrorism, political disruptions, disputes, or armed conflicts involving oil-producing countries or impacting global trade routes, changes in production levels of individual nations or associations of oil-producing states, economic sanctions imposed against oil-producing countries or specific industry participants, changes in fuel-related governmental policy, the strength of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies, changes in the cost to refine, transport or store petroleum products and any related staffing or transportation equipment shortages, changes in access to petroleum product pipelines and terminals, speculation in the energy futures markets, changes in aircraft fuel production capacity, unplanned interruptions or of production at refineries, environmental and other events, may result in fuel supply , variations in the applicable crack spread, distribution , additional fuel price and cost increases in the future. Any of these factors or events could cause a in, or increased demands on, oil production, refinery operations, pipeline capacity or terminal access, and possibly result in significant increases in the price of aircraft fuel and availability of aircraft fuel supply. Additionally, because passengers often purchase tickets well in advance of their travel, a significant rapid increase in fuel price may result in the fare charged not covering that increase. At times in the past, we were not to increase our fares to offset fully the effect of increases in fuel costs, and we may not be to do so in the future.
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Our aviation fuel purchase contracts generally do not provide meaningful price protection against increases in fuel costs. Our current policy is not to enter into transactions to hedge our fuel consumption, although we review this policy from time to time based on market conditions and other factors. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2025, we did not have any fuel hedging contracts outstanding to hedge our fuel consumption. As such, and assuming we do not enter into any future transactions to hedge our fuel consumption, we will continue to be fully exposed to fluctuations in fuel prices. See also the discussion in Part II, Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk – “Aircraft Fuel.”
In addition, as part of our emissions reduction goals, we and other airlines have publicly announced long-term targets for the increased use of SAF in our operation. Currently, industrial production of SAF is small in scale and inadequate to meet growing industry demand, and while additional production capacity is expected to become operational in the coming years, we anticipate that competition for SAF among industry participants will remain intense. As a result, SAF may be significantly more costly than conventional jet fuel. To secure future SAF supply, we have entered into multiple agreements for the purchase of future SAF production, and we continue to engage with producers regarding potential future SAF purchases, which may include investments and other commitments to support these producers. Certain existing or potential future agreements pertain to SAF production from facilities that are planned but not yet financed, and which may utilize technology that has not been proven at commercial scale. There is no assurance that these facilities will be built or that they will meet contracted production timelines and volumes. In the event that the SAF is not delivered on schedule or in sufficient volumes, there can be no assurance that we will be able to source a supply of SAF sufficient to meet our stated goals, or that we will be able to do so on economic terms.
Our business is subject to extensive government regulation, which may increase our costs, disrupt our operations, limit our operating flexibility, reduce the demand for air travel, and create competitive disadvantages.
Airlines are subject to extensive domestic and international regulatory requirements. In the last several years, the U.S. executive branch, Congress and state and local and foreign governments have issued orders, passed laws, and launched regulatory initiatives, and federal agencies, including but not limited to the DOT, the FAA, the TSA, the Centers for Disease Control, the DOJ, and their respective international counterparts have issued regulations and a number of other directives that affect the airline industry. These requirements impose substantial costs on us and restrict the ways we may conduct our business.
For example, the FAA from time-to-time issues directives and other regulations relating to the maintenance and operation of aircraft that require significant expenditures or operational restrictions. These requirements can be issued with little or no notice, or can otherwise impact our ability to efficiently or fully utilize our aircraft, and in some instances have resulted in the temporary or prolonged grounding of aircraft or engine types altogether including, for example, the March 2019 grounding of all Boeing 737 MAX Family aircraft, which was not lifted in the United States until November 2020, the January 2024 grounding of 737-9 MAX aircraft (a model we do not operate), and the significant limitations imposed on the use of Pratt & Whitney GTF aircraft engines on certain Airbus aircraft (an engine we do not use in our fleet), or otherwise caused substantial disruption and resulted in material costs to us and lost revenues. In 2023, the telecom industry rolled out 5G technology, and concerns were raised by the FAA regarding its possible interference with aircraft navigation systems, which resulted in regulatory uncertainty and the potential for operational impacts, including possible suspension of service to certain airports or the operation of certain aircraft. Although the issue was resolved through an agreement between the FAA, the FCC, and telecommunications industry, that agreement expires in 2028 and will need to be extended or modified. Additionally, the passage of OBBBA included the requirement for the FCC to auction additional spectrum, which could lead to new impacts on aviation. See “ We rely heavily on technology and automated systems, including AI, to operate our business and any of these technologies or systems could our business, results of operations and financial condition.” The FAA also exercises comprehensive regulatory authority over nearly all technical aspects of our operations. Our to comply with such requirements has in the past and may in the future result in and other enforcement actions by the FAA or other regulators. In the future, any new regulatory requirements, particularly requirements that limit our ability to operate or price our products, could have a material effect on us and the industry.
In May 2024, Congress passed a five-year funding authorization for the FAA (FAA Authorization Renewal). Among other things, the FAA Authorization Renewal increased the authorized funding level for the FAA and required the hiring of additional air traffic controllers, an effort to address staffing and resource shortages and improve the operation of the ATC system in the U.S. The FAA Authorization Renewal also codified several consumer protection rulemakings that could be challenging to implement and have negative financial impacts. Any new or enhanced requirements resulting from the FAA Authorization Renewal, including any new fees, costs we may be required to incur to comply with new rules and compensation or other penalties we may be required to pay for violations of such rules, have the potential to increase our
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costs or adversely impact our operation. The OBBBA included $12.5 billion in additional funding for ATC infrastructure and modernization. While this recent law and new funding should lead to ATC improvements, there is uncertainty on how and when the funding will be spent and if there will be any operational impacts as certain systems and infrastructure are modernized.
DOT consumer rules, and rules promulgated by certain comparable agencies in other countries we serve, dictate procedures for many aspects of our customer’s journey, including at the time of ticket purchase, at the airport and onboard the aircraft. For example, in April 2024, the DOT issued a final rule mandating refunds in certain circumstances (refund rule), and a final rule requiring disclosure of certain ancillary fees by air carriers and travel agents (ancillary fee rule). Also in December 2024, the DOT published a final rule on “Ensuring Safe Accommodations for Air Travelers with Disabilities Using Wheelchairs” which sets new standards for assistance, mandates hands-on training for airline employees and contractors who physically assist passengers with disabilities and handle passengers’ wheelchairs, and specifies actions that airlines must take to protect passengers when a wheelchair is damaged or delayed during transport. Individual requirements in the final rule have varying implementation timelines, ranging from January 16, 2025 (the effective date of the final rule) to June 17, 2026 (wheelchair rule). On September 4, 2025, the Trump Administration released its Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, outlining planned priorities, timelines, and policy directions across federal agencies. The agenda signals DOT’s intent to roll back existing regulations, including the refund rule, ancillary fee rule, compensation rule, and wheelchair rule. DOT has already begun taking action, such as rescinding an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled “Airline Passenger Rights,” which sought comments on requiring airlines to provide cash compensation, free rebooking, meal coverage, and overnight lodging with related transportation when are airline-caused.
The Aviation and Transportation Security Act mandates the federalization of certain airport security procedures and imposes additional security requirements on airports and airlines, most of which are funded by a per-ticket tax on passengers and a tax on airlines. Present and potential future security requirements may impose costs and inconvenience on travelers, potentially reducing the demand for air travel.
Similarly, there are a number of legislative and regulatory initiatives and reforms at the state and local levels in the U.S. that may affect airlines. These initiatives include increasingly stringent laws to protect the environment, wage/hour requirements, mandatory paid sick or family leave and healthcare mandates. These laws could affect our relationship with our workforce and the vendors that serve our airline and cause our expenses to increase without an ability to pass through these costs. In recent years, the airline industry has experienced an increase in litigation over the scope of the application of state and local employment laws to the airline industry. Application of these laws may result in operational disruption, increased litigation risk and impact our negotiated labor agreements. For example, we are currently involved in legal proceedings in California and other states concerning alleged violations of state labor laws including, among other things, overtime pay and violations of certain meal and rest break laws, and an adverse determination in any of these cases could impact our operational flexibility and result in and , which could potentially be significant.
The results of our operations, demand for air travel and the manner in which we conduct business each may be affected by changes in law and future actions taken by governmental agencies, including:
• changes in law that affect the services that airlines can offer in particular markets and at particular airports, or the types of fares offered or fees that can be charged to passengers;
• the granting and timing of certain governmental approvals (including antitrust or foreign government approvals) needed for codesharing alliances, joint businesses and other arrangements with other airlines, and the imposition of regulatory investigations or commencement of litigation related to any of the foregoing;
• restrictions on competitive practices (for example, court orders, or agency regulations or orders, that would curtail an airline’s ability to respond to a competitor);
• the adoption of new passenger security standards or regulations that impact customer service standards;
• restrictions on airport operations, such as restrictions on the use of slots at airports or the auction or reallocation of slot rights we currently hold;
• the adoption of more restrictive locally-imposed noise restrictions;
• the institution of airspace and overflight closures and restrictions; and
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• restrictions on travel or special guidelines regarding aircraft occupancy or hygiene in response to outbreaks of illness, including the imposition of preflight testing regimes or vaccination confirmation requirements that have in the past and may in the future have the effect of reducing demand for air travel in the markets where such requirements are imposed.
Each additional regulation or other form of regulatory oversight increases costs and adds greater complexity to airline operations and, in some cases, may reduce the demand for air travel. There can be no assurance that the increased costs or greater complexity associated with our compliance with new rules, anticipated rules or other forms of regulatory oversight will not have a material adverse effect on us. Any significant reduction in air traffic capacity at and in the airspace serving key airports in the U.S. or overseas could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, the ATC system has not to date modernized sufficiently to meet the growing demand for U.S. air travel. Air traffic controllers rely on outdated procedures and technologies that routinely compel airlines, including ourselves, to fly inefficient routes or take significant delays on the ground. The ATC system’s inability to manage existing travel demand, including due to staffing shortages, has led government agencies to implement short-term capacity constraints during peak travel periods or weather conditions in certain markets, causing and of air traffic. The technologies also cause the ATC system to be less resilient in the event of a , and past system have resulted in large-scale flight and . We experienced this in January 2023 when an in the ATC Notice to Air Missions system led to a nationwide ground-stop for nearly two hours, resulting in significant operational throughout the day, and in September 2025 when a local reduced traffic in the Dallas metropolitan area.
Even though the OBBBA includes $12.5 billion in additional funding for ATC infrastructure and modernization, the outcome of this initiative remains uncertain. For example, in the early 2000s, the FAA embarked on a path to modernize the national airspace system, including migration from the current radar-based ATC system to a GPS-based system. This modernization of the ATC system, generally referred to as “NextGen,” has been plagued by delays and cost overruns, and it remains uncertain when the full array of benefits expected from this modernization will be available to the public and the airlines, including ourselves. Failure to update the ATC system and the substantial costs that may be imposed on airlines, including ourselves, to fully fund a modernized ATC system may have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our operating authority in international markets is subject to aviation agreements between the U.S. and the respective countries or governmental authorities, such as the EU, and in some cases, fares and schedules require the approval of the DOT and/or the relevant foreign governments. Moreover, alliances with international carriers may be subject to the jurisdiction and regulations of various foreign agencies. The U.S. government has negotiated “open skies” agreements with more than 130 trading partners. These agreements allow unrestricted route authority access between the U.S. and the foreign markets. While the U.S. has worked to increase the number of countries with open skies agreements, a number of significant markets, including China, do not have open skies agreements. In other instances, where there are open skies agreements, countries fail to fully implement the agreements or take actions that contravene the agreements. In these instances, we may be unable to fully realize the benefit of “open skies” agreements in foreign markets. In addition, bilateral and multilateral agreements among the U.S. and various foreign governments of countries we serve but which are not covered by an open skies treaty are subject to periodic renegotiation. We currently operate a number of international routes under government arrangements that limit the number of airlines permitted to operate on the route, the capacity of the airlines providing services on the route, or the number of airlines allowed access to particular airports. If an open skies policy were to be adopted for any of these markets, it could impact us and could our related tangible and intangible assets. In addition, competition from foreign airlines, revenue-sharing joint ventures, joint business agreements, and other arrangements by and among other airlines could the value of our business and assets on the open skies routes.
We can be adversely affected by any prolonged U.S. Government shutdown.
A prolonged disruption in U.S. federal government operations, including lapses in appropriations or extended continuing resolutions, has in the past and could in the future materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. When government agencies reduce or suspend operations, aviation system regulators—including the FAA and the TSA—may experience staffing constraints, furloughs, curtailed activities, and related operational limitations. In the fourth quarter of 2025, conditions led to mandated schedule reductions, strained air traffic control and security screening resources, reduced air traffic capacity at key U.S. airports, and increased delays and cancellations.
Shutdown-related uncertainty can also dampen both business and leisure travel demand and slow booking trends, causing short-term business challenges. In addition, curtailed FAA activities during shutdowns can delay regulatory
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approvals and certifications necessary for airline operations, including those related to placing new aircraft into service, which can disrupt execution of fleet and growth plans.
Because the timing, duration, scope and operational effects of shutdowns and related capacity reduction mandates are uncertain—and can vary across airports and regions—future events of this nature could result in lower load factors and yields, higher unit costs, and reduced operational reliability. The cumulative impact of these factors could be material to our operations and financial performance.
We operate a global business with international operations that are subject to economic and political instability and have been, and in the future may continue to be, adversely affected by numerous events, circumstances or government actions beyond our control.
We operate a global business with significant operations outside of the U.S. Our current international activities and prospects have been, and in the future could be, adversely affected by government policies, reversals or delays in the opening of foreign markets, increased competition in international markets, the performance of our alliance, joint business and codeshare partners in a given market, exchange controls or other restrictions on repatriation of funds, currency and political risks (including changes in exchange rates and currency devaluations), environmental regulation, increases in taxes and fees and changes in international governmental regulation of our operations, including the inability to obtain or retain needed route authorities and/or slots, and new or evolved policies related to consumer protection policies. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the demand for international travel for a prolonged period, and resulted in the imposition of significant governmental restrictions on commercial air service to or from certain regions. We responded by temporarily suspending a significant portion of our long-haul international flights and delaying the introduction of certain new long-haul international routes.
We are subject to varying registration requirements and ongoing reporting obligations in the countries where we operate. Our permission to continue doing business in these countries may depend on our ability to timely fulfil or remedy any noncompliance with these and other governmental requirements. We may also be subject to the risk that relevant government agencies will be delayed in granting or renewing required approvals, including as a result of shutdowns, cybersecurity incidents or other events. Any lapse, revocation, suspension or delay in approval of our authority to do business in a given jurisdiction may prevent us from serving certain destinations and could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
More generally, our industry may be affected by any deterioration in global trade relations, including shifts in the trade policies of the U.S. and other nations. For example, much of the demand for international air travel is the result of business travel in support of global trade. Should protectionist governmental policies, such as tariff or other trade barriers, travel limitations and other regulatory actions, have the effect of reducing global commercial activity, the result could be a material decrease in the demand for international air travel. Additionally, certain products and services we purchase, including certain of our aircraft and related parts, are sourced from suppliers located outside the U.S., and the imposition of new tariffs, or any increase in existing tariffs, by the U.S. government in respect of the importation of such products could materially increase the amounts we pay for them. In addition, should additional or different retaliatory tariffs be imposed, our business could be harmed.
We continue to examine any ongoing risks associated with Brexit, notably given the extent of our passenger and cargo traffic and that of our joint business partners that flows through LHR in the United Kingdom. The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) has been in force since May 1, 2021. The TCA includes a set of review dates, including a general provision in Article 776 of the TCA for review of implementation of the entire TCA five years after it comes into force, and then every five years thereafter. The first review is due in 2026. We will continue to monitor whether the review will impact air traffic services and whether the UK government’s desire for a reset in EU-UK relations will result in any material changes to the operation of air transport under the TCA. LHR remains a very important element of our international network and significant adverse changes to the EU-UK relationship could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Additionally, fluctuations in foreign currencies, including devaluations, exchange controls and other restrictions on the repatriation of funds, have significantly affected and may continue to significantly affect our operating performance, liquidity and the value of any cash held outside the U.S. in local currency. We cannot predict fluctuations in foreign currencies, including devaluations, which can significantly affect the value of our assets outside the United States. These conditions, devaluations or imposition of more stringent repatriation restrictions, may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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We may be adversely affected by conflicts overseas, terrorist attacks or other acts of violence, domestically or abroad; the travel industry continues to face ongoing security concerns.
Acts of terrorism and other violence, domestically or abroad, or fear of such attacks, including elevated national threat warnings, wars or other military conflicts, may depress air travel, particularly on international routes, and cause declines in revenues and increases in costs. The September 11, 2001 attacks and continuing terrorist threats, attacks and attempted attacks materially impacted and continue to impact air travel. Increased security procedures introduced at airports since September 11, 2001 and any other such future measures generate higher operating costs for airlines. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act mandated improved flight deck security, deployment of federal air marshals on-board flights, improved airport perimeter access security, airline crew security training, enhanced security screening of passengers, baggage, cargo, mail, employees and vendors, enhanced training and qualifications of security screening personnel, additional provision of passenger data to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency and background checks. A concurrent increase in airport security charges and procedures, such as restrictions on carry-on baggage, has also had and may continue to have a impact on short-haul travel, which constitutes a significant portion of our flying and revenue. Implementation of and compliance with increasingly complex security and customs requirements will continue to result in increased costs for us and our passengers, and have caused and likely will continue to cause periodic service and . We have at times found it necessary or to make significant expenditures to comply with security-related requirements while seeking to reduce their impact on our customers, such as expenditures for automated security screening lines at airports. As a result of competitive pressure, and the need to security screening throughput to support the pace of our operations, it is unlikely that we will be to capture all security-related costs through increased fares. We cannot forecast what new security requirements may be imposed in the future, or their impact on our business. In addition, avoiding areas of armed or locations to us due to geopolitical factors can impact our operations and financial results. For instance, airspace or restrictions may require us to alter flight paths or make further operational adjustments, such as changes to preferred locations, thereby increasing the distance, duration and amount of fuel required to operate certain international flights, in particular relative to competitors not subject to these airspace restrictions. Armed in or affecting international markets we serve could also impact our business by, among other things, demand for travel to certain regions or requiring us to air service to certain destinations. Recent or armed , security events and geopolitical risks, involving countries such as Cuba, Iran, Israel, Russia, Ukraine and Venezuela, could impact our business. The outbreak or spread of armed and security could us to make additional reductions or changes to our service and could result in in oil markets, to global trade and airspace restrictions, which could materially increase our costs or impact our supply chains.
We are subject to risks associated with climate change, including increased regulation of our GHG emissions, changing consumer preferences and the potential for increased impacts of severe weather events on our operations and infrastructure.
Global efforts to address climate change have prompted regulators worldwide to promulgate regulations to reduce GHG emissions, including those from the airline industry. Several countries and U.S. states have adopted or are considering adopting programs, including potentially new taxes, designed to cap or reduce aviation’s GHG emissions. In addition, certain airports have proposed, and in the future could adopt, GHG emission or climate-related goals or measures that could impact our operations or require us to make further investments in our infrastructure. These regulations may also lead to attempts to adopt requirements or change business environments related to aviation that may result in increased costs to us and the airline industry.
Internationally, ICAO has adopted rules, including those pertaining to CORSIA, which will require us to mitigate the growth of emissions associated with a significant majority of our international flights. At this time, the costs of complying with our future obligations under CORSIA are uncertain, primarily due to significant uncertainty with respect to the status of the U.S. government implementation of CORSIA requirements, the future growth of covered GHG emissions, the supply and price of eligible carbon credits and the future development of the market for eligible renewable fuels.
We and other airlines are increasingly subject to an unpredictable and inconsistent array of international, national and regional emissions restrictions, creating a patchwork of complex regulatory requirements that could lead to increased expenses related to the emissions of our flights. Furthermore, recent implementation of and potential for other new regulatory initiatives to reduce airline GHG emissions may increase our compliance costs. For more information on these regulatory developments, see “ Environmental Matters” under Part I, Item 1. Business – “Domestic and Global Regulatory Landscape. ”
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We have published a number of sustainability-related targets and goals, including reducing our GHG emissions and the GHG-intensity of our operations. These goals are often long-term in nature, and in many cases rely on assumptions about the future availability and efficacy of technologies that are not yet commercially viable or do not yet exist. Our ability to meet our publicly stated targets depends on a number of factors outside our control, including the ability of third parties, such as engine and airframe manufacturers, SAF producers and other industry participants, to timely develop and commercialize these technological solutions at scale and competitive prices.
In addition, as part of our emissions reduction goals, we and other airlines have publicly announced future targets to increase our use of SAF. Industrial production of SAF continues to be small in scale and well below the volumes needed to meet these goals. Furthermore, current SAF prices are significantly higher than the price of conventional jet fuel. While production capacity is expected to grow in the coming years, we anticipate that SAF will remain significantly more costly than conventional jet fuel. To secure SAF supply, we have entered into multiple agreements for the purchase of current and future SAF production, and we continue to engage with producers regarding potential future SAF purchases, which may include investments and other commitments to support these producers. Certain existing or potential future agreements pertain to SAF production from facilities that are planned but not yet financed and may utilize technology that has not been proven on a commercial scale. There is no assurance that these facilities will be built or that they will meet contracted production timelines and volumes. In the event that SAF is not delivered on schedule or in sufficient volumes, there can be no assurance that we will be able to source a supply of SAF sufficient to meet our stated goals, or that we will be able to do so on favorable economic terms.
We face risks associated with allegations or similar claims that our public statements, including but not limited to press releases, advertising campaigns, marketing programs or commercial offerings describing our sustainability efforts are exaggerated, unsubstantiated or inconsistent with then-current regulations, sometimes referred to as “greenwashing.” We could be subject to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions challenging the basis for such statements which could be costly and disruptive, whether or not meritorious.
Additionally, growing recognition among consumers of the risks of climate change may mean some customers choose to fly less frequently or fly on an airline they perceive as operating in a manner that produces fewer GHG emissions. Business customers may choose to use alternatives to travel, such as virtual meetings and workspaces. Greater development of high-speed rail in markets now served by short-haul flights could provide passengers with lower-carbon alternatives to flying with us. Our collateral to secure loans, in the form of aircraft, airport slots, gates and routes, could lose value as customer demand shifts and economies move to low-carbon alternatives, which may increase our financing costs.
Finally, the potential acute and chronic physical effects of climate change, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, floods, fires, sea-level rise, excessive heat, longer-term changes in weather patterns and other climate-related events, could affect our operations, infrastructure and financial results as well as the safety of our customers and team members. Operational impacts, such as more frequent or widespread flight cancellations, could result in loss of revenue. We could incur significant costs to improve the climate resiliency of our infrastructure and operations and otherwise prepare for, respond to, and mitigate such physical effects of climate change. We are not able to predict accurately the materiality of any potential losses or costs associated with the physical effects of climate change.
We are subject to various risks associated with environmental and social matters.
There is increased scrutiny from investors, customers, policymakers, regulators and other stakeholders regarding company management of climate change, human capital and other environmental and social matters. We engage in various initiatives and programs to manage these matters and address stakeholder expectations. However, such initiatives and programs can be costly and at times controversial; they also may not achieve their intended outcome. Moreover, we cannot guarantee that our approach will align with the expectations or preferences of any particular stakeholder. Various stakeholders have different, and at times conflicting, expectations. For example, while some policymakers (such as the State of California and the European Union) have adopted requirements for various disclosures or actions on environmental and social matters, policymakers in other jurisdictions have sought to constrain companies’ consideration of such matters in certain circumstances.
We are subject to many forms of environmental and noise regulation and may incur substantial costs as a result.
We are subject to a number of increasingly stringent federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and ordinances relating to the protection of human health and the environment and noise reduction, including those relating to emissions
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to the air, discharges to land and surface and subsurface waters, safe drinking water, and the management of hazardous substances, oils and waste materials. This universe of substances is evolving to encompass many substances not previously regulated. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations can require significant expenditures, and violations can lead to significant fines and penalties, as well as civil liability.
We are also subject to other environmental laws and regulations, including those that require us to investigate and remediate soil or groundwater to meet certain remediation standards. Under federal law, generators of waste materials, and current and former owners or operators of facilities, can be subject to liability for investigation and remediation costs at locations that have been identified as requiring response actions. Liability under these laws may be retroactive, strict, joint and several, meaning that we could be liable for the costs of cleaning up environmental contamination regardless of when it occurred, fault or the amount of waste directly attributable to us. We have liability for investigation and remediation costs at various domestic sites, although such costs currently are not expected to have a material adverse effect on our business.
Governmental authorities in the U.S. and abroad (including in the EU) are increasingly focused on potential contamination resulting from the use of certain chemicals, most notably per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Products containing PFAS have been used in manufacturing, industrial, and consumer applications over many decades, including those related to aviation. Among other things, recent changes to federal requirements for firefighting foams containing PFAS, as well as related state regulations affecting their use, will require operational and infrastructure changes. In February 2024, the EPA published, for public comment, a new rulemaking to list nine PFAS as hazardous constituents under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. In April 2024, the EPA published a final rule designating two PFAS substances (perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. This rule requires entities to immediately report releases of such substances that meet or exceed the reportable quantity to EPA’s National Response Center. These rulemakings could require additional oversight and management of PFAS-containing materials and waste. We may incur costs in connection with current and future reporting obligations, costs related to materials management and historic usage and disposal of PFAS-containing materials, transitioning away from the usage of PFAS-containing products and firefighting systems, or remediating any environmental impacts.
We have various leases and agreements with respect to real property, tanks and pipelines with airports and other operators. Under these leases and agreements, we have agreed to indemnify the lessor or operator against environmental liabilities associated with the real property or operations described under the agreement, even in certain cases where we are not the party responsible for the initial event that caused the environmental damage. We also participate in leases with other airlines in fuel consortiums and fuel committees at airports, and such indemnities are generally joint and several among the participating airlines.
Governmental authorities in several U.S. and foreign cities are also considering, or have already implemented, aircraft noise reduction programs, including the imposition of nighttime curfews and limitations on daytime take offs and landings as well as setting an annual flight cap from specific cities. We have been able to accommodate local noise restrictions imposed to date, but our operations could be adversely affected if locally-imposed regulations become more restrictive or widespread. At the international level, we are closely monitoring noise-related regulations and relevant standards set forth in aviation agreements between the U.S. government and other applicable authorities. The FAA is also currently evaluating possible changes to how aircraft noise is measured and the resulting standards that are based on them. Ultimately, these changes could have an impact on, or limit, our operations, or make it more difficult for the FAA to modernize and increase the efficiency of the airspace and airports we utilize. However, at this time we do not expect such impact to be material.
A high level of pilot retirements, stringent duty time regulations, increased flight hour requirements for commercial airline pilots, reductions in the number of military pilots entering the commercial workforce, increased training requirements and other factors have caused a shortage of pilots that could materially adversely affect our business.
Commencing in 2013, the time and cost commitment required to become licensed to fly commercial aircraft has increased. Additionally, the number of military pilots being trained by the U.S. armed forces and available as commercial pilots upon their retirement from military service has decreased.
These and other factors have contributed to a shortage of pilots that at times have been severe and increased compensation costs. We believe that pilot shortages will remain a problem for the foreseeable future. The pilot shortage has been most acute for regional airlines. It remains possible that our regional airline subsidiaries and other regional
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partners could have difficulties hiring adequate numbers of pilots to meet their needs, which could result in a reduction in the number of flights offered, operational disruptions, increased compensation expense and costs of operations, financial difficulties and other adverse effects.
We depend on a limited number of suppliers for aircraft, aircraft engines and parts. Delays in scheduled aircraft deliveries, unexpected grounding of aircraft or aircraft engines whether by regulators or by us, or other loss of anticipated fleet capacity, and failure of new aircraft to receive regulatory approval, be produced or otherwise perform as and when expected, adversely impacts our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We depend on a limited number of suppliers for aircraft, aircraft engines and many aircraft and engine parts. For example, all of our mainline aircraft were manufactured by either Airbus or Boeing and all of our regional aircraft were manufactured by either Bombardier or Embraer. Further, our supplier base continues to consolidate as evidenced by the cessation of production of Bombardier regional aircraft that we and our regional partners currently operate in large numbers. Due to the limited number of suppliers, constraints on production capacity, large order books and long production lead times, manufacturers have faced and are expected to continue to face challenges in timely fulfilling our aircraft on order, and we may face competition from other carriers in securing an adequate supply of aircraft in the future. If new aircraft orders are not filled on a timely basis, we could face higher financing and operating costs than planned. The limited number of these suppliers may also result in reduced competition and potentially higher prices than if the supplier base was less concentrated. In addition, we are vulnerable to any problems associated with the performance of these suppliers’ obligation to supply key aircraft, parts and engines, including design defects, mechanical problems, contractual performance by suppliers or perception by the public that would result in customer avoidance of any of our aircraft. We may also experience delivery with respect to components or equipment that we have contracted to purchase from third-party suppliers (so-called “buyer-furnished equipment”) and required for the outfitting of our aircraft. of our suppliers to timely deliver such components or equipment has in the past and could in the future certification of these aircraft or components and their entry into service, and could prevent us from financing such aircraft, requiring us to pay for new deliveries using cash on hand. If the aircraft we receive do not meet expected performance or quality standards, including with respect to fuel , safety and reliability, we could also face higher financing and operating costs than planned and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be impacted. We are also subject to the risk that action by the FAA or any other regulatory authority could result in an to certify or operate our aircraft, even temporarily. For instance, in March 2019, the FAA ordered the grounding of all Boeing 737 MAX Family aircraft, which remained in place for over a year and was not lifted in the United States until November 2020. An additional grounding of Boeing aircraft occurred in January 2024 involving the Boeing 737-9 MAX, a model that we do not operate. Regulatory raised by the FAA also previously Boeing to deliveries of certain 787 aircraft, temporarily resulting in significant reductions to our planned long-haul flying. More generally, we have recently experienced delivery across manufacturers of aircraft engines and components due to regulatory matters such as those described above. There is also the prospect that new aircraft models will continue to face certification further the delivery of new aircraft to the airline industry and increasing competition for the production capacity that is available. There have also been to aircraft delivery specifically around the certification of new seats and seat designs. In addition, we source a portion of our aircraft, aircraft engines and parts from outside the U.S., and any tariffs imposed may lead to higher costs, affect our supply chains and affect our business and results of operations. For example, there are presently in place tariffs on certain goods, including aircraft, from Brazil, which is the sole source of our new regional jets. Finally, we also face supply chain risks from in global trade, including the imposition of tariffs and non-tariff with respect to aircraft and related parts that we are not to mitigate.
The success of our business depends on, among other things, effectively managing the number and types of aircraft we operate. If, for any reason, we are unable to accept or secure deliveries of new aircraft on contractually scheduled delivery timelines, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be negatively impacted. Our failure to integrate newly purchased aircraft into our fleet as planned might require us to seek extensions of the terms for some leased aircraft or otherwise delay the exit of certain aircraft from our fleet, and in certain cases, may require us to undertake costly refurbishments or maintenance of such aircraft. Such unanticipated extensions or delays, which as noted above have recently been relatively commonplace among manufacturers of commercial aircraft, may require us to operate existing aircraft beyond the point at which it is economically optimal to retire them, resulting in increased maintenance costs, or reductions to our schedule, thereby reducing revenues. Repeated or prolonged delays in the production, delivery or induction of our new aircraft could also require us to scale back our growth plans, reduce frequencies or forgo service entirely to certain markets, which could affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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We rely on third-party distribution channels and must effectively manage the costs, rights and functionality of these channels.
While our priority is to migrate an increasing portion of our customers to our modern, direct distribution channels in lieu of third party channels, we continue to rely on third-party distribution channels, including those provided by or through global distribution systems (GDSs) (e.g., Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport), conventional travel agents, travel management companies and OTAs (e.g., Expedia, including its booking sites Orbitz and Travelocity, and Booking Holdings, including its booking sites Kayak and Priceline), to distribute a significant portion of our airline tickets, and we expect in the future to continue to rely on these channels. We are also dependent upon the ability and willingness of these distribution channels to expand their ability to distribute and collect revenues for ancillary products (e.g., fees for selective seating). These distribution channels are more expensive and at present have less functionality in respect of ancillary product offerings than those we operate ourselves, such as our website at www.aa.com . Certain of these distribution channels also effectively restrict the manner in which we distribute our products generally.
To remain competitive, we will need to manage successfully our distribution costs and rights, increase our distribution flexibility, continue to migrate the distribution of tickets to our proprietary and other modern distribution channels, and improve the functionality of our distribution channels, while maintaining an industry-competitive cost structure and a high level of customer satisfaction. Further, as distribution technology changes, we will need to continue to update our technology by acquiring new technology from third parties, building the functionality ourselves, or a combination thereof, which in any event will likely entail significant technological and commercial risk and involve potentially material investments. These imperatives may affect our relationships with conventional travel agents, travel management companies, GDSs and OTAs, including if consolidation of conventional travel agents, travel management companies, GDSs or OTAs continues, or should any of these parties seek to acquire other technology providers thereby potentially limiting our technology alternatives. For example, as previously reported, during the second quarter of 2024 we concluded that certain commercial initiatives designed to, among other things, migrate customers to our modern, direct distribution channels contributed to softness in customer bookings relative to our expectations, and we reversed many of these measures late in the quarter. Any inability to manage our third-party distribution costs, rights and functionality at a competitive level or any material diminishment or in the distribution of our tickets could have a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we are unable to obtain and maintain adequate facilities and infrastructure throughout our system and, at some airports, adequate slots, we may be unable to operate our existing flight schedule and to expand or change our route network in the future, which may have a material adverse impact on our operations.
In order to operate our existing and proposed flight schedule and, where desirable, add service along new or existing routes, we must be able to maintain and/or obtain adequate gates, check-in counters, operations areas, operations control facilities and administrative support space. As airports around the world become more congested, it may not be possible for us to ensure that our plans for new service can be implemented in a commercially viable manner, given operating constraints at airports throughout our network, including those imposed by inadequate facilities at desirable airports.
There is presently a significant amount of capital spending underway at major airports in the United States, including large projects underway at a number of airports where we have significant operations, such as O’Hare International Airport (ORD), DFW, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Miami International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). More generally, following long periods of underinvestment, there is a trend among airports in the United States to engage in significant, expensive expansion, remodeling and infrastructure improvement projects. This spending increases costs to airlines and the traveling public that has and will continue to use those facilities as the airports generally recover their investments through increased rental, landing and other facility costs. In some circumstances, such costs could be imposed by the relevant airport authority without our approval. Accordingly, our operating costs are expected to increase significantly at many airports at which we operate, including a number of our hubs and gateways, as a result of capital spending projects currently underway and additional projects that we expect to commence over the next several years. Escalating airport costs, especially at one of our major hubs, could also force us to revise our growth plans or redirect flying to more cost-effective airports.
In addition, operations at three major domestic airports, certain smaller domestic airports and many foreign airports we serve are regulated by governmental entities through allocations of slots or similar regulatory mechanisms that limit the rights of carriers to conduct operations at those airports. Each slot represents the authorization to land at or take off from the particular airport during a specified time period and may impose other operational restrictions as well. In the U.S., the DOT and the FAA currently regulate the allocation of slots or slot exemptions at DCA and two New York City airports: JFK and LGA. Our operations at these airports generally require the allocation of slots or similar regulatory authority. In
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addition to slot restrictions, operations at DCA and LGA are also limited based on a so-called “perimeter rule” which generally limits the stage length of the flights that can be operated from those airports to 1,250 and 1,500 miles, respectively. Similarly, our operations at LHR, international airports in Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo and other airports outside the U.S. are regulated by local slot authorities pursuant to the International Airline Trade Association Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines and/or applicable local law. Termination of slot controls or other operational restrictions at some or all of the foregoing airports could affect our operational performance and competitive position. We currently have sufficient slots or analogous authorizations to operate our existing flights and we have generally, but not always, been able to obtain the rights to expand our operations and to change our schedules. However, there is no assurance that we will be able to obtain sufficient slots or analogous authorizations in the future or as to the cost of acquiring such rights because, among other reasons, such allocations are often sought after by other airlines and are subject to changes in governmental policies. During periods of reduced demand for air travel, we presently and may in the future rely on exemptions granted by applicable authorities from the requirement that we continuously use certain slots, gates and routes or risk having such operating rights , and depending on the applicable authority these exemptions can vary in the way they are structured and applied. We cannot predict whether such exemptions will be made available, whether they will be granted on the same or similar terms as in past instances, or whether we ultimately could be at risk of operating rights. If we are to surrender slots or other rights, we may be to provide our level of service to or from certain destinations in the future. We cannot provide any assurance that regulatory changes resulting in changes in the application of slot controls or the allocation of or any reallocation of existing slots, the continued enforcement or of a perimeter rule or similar regulatory regime will not have a material impact on our operations.
Our ability to provide service can also be impaired at airports where the airport gates and other facilities are inadequate to accommodate all of the service that we would like to provide, or where we have no access to gates at all.
Any limitation on our ability to acquire or maintain adequate gates, ticketing facilities, operations areas, operations control facilities, slots (where applicable), or office space could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Interruptions or disruptions in service at one of our key facilities could have a material adverse impact on our operations.
We operate principally through our hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. and partner gateways including London Heathrow (among others). Substantially all of our flights either originate at or fly into one of these locations. A significant interruption or disruption in service at one of our hubs, gateways or other airports where we have a significant presence, resulting from air traffic control delays, weather conditions, natural disasters, cybersecurity incidents, growth constraints, performance by third-party service providers (such as electric utility or telecommunications providers), failure of computer systems, disruptions at airport facilities and equipment or other key facilities used by us to manage our operations (including as a result of social or environmental activism), labor relations, power supplies, fuel supplies, terrorist activities, or other reasons could result in the cancellation or delay of a significant portion of our flights and, as a result, could have a severe impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We have limited control, particularly in the short term, over the operation, quality or maintenance of many of the services on which our operations depend and over whether vendors of such services will or continue to provide services that are essential to our business.
Increases in insurance costs or reductions in insurance coverage may adversely impact our operations and financial results.
We maintain insurance policies, including, but not limited to, terrorism, aviation hull and liability, workers' compensation and property and business interruption insurance, but we are not fully insured against all potential hazards and risk incident to our business. Emerging threats such as cyberattacks, artificial intelligence-related risks, or geopolitical instability could further challenge insurance availability and affordability. Additionally, the occurrence or persistence of certain events, including armed conflicts, could also impact our ability to obtain commercial insurance coverage against certain risks, or to obtain such insurance on commercially acceptable terms. If we are unable to maintain adequate insurance coverage or to secure suitable alternatives outside the commercial insurance markets, our business could be materially and adversely affected. Additionally, in the domestic and global financial markets could impact the paying ability of some insurers. Future in the ratings of enough insurers could impact both the availability of appropriate insurance coverage and its cost. Because of competitive pressures in our industry, our ability to pass along additional insurance costs to passengers is limited. As a result, further increases in insurance costs or reductions in available insurance coverage could have an impact on our financial results.
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The airline industry is heavily taxed.
The airline industry is subject to extensive government fees and taxation that negatively impact our revenue and profitability. The U.S. airline industry is one of the most heavily taxed of all industries. These fees and taxes have grown significantly in the past decade for domestic flights, and various U.S. fees and taxes also are assessed on international flights. For example, as permitted by federal legislation, most major U.S. airports impose a per-passenger facility charge on us. In addition, the governments of foreign countries in which we operate impose on U.S. airlines, including us, various fees and taxes, and these assessments have been increasing in number and amount. Moreover, we are obligated to collect a federal excise tax, commonly referred to as the “ticket tax,” on domestic and certain international air transportation. We collect the excise tax, along with certain other U.S. and foreign taxes and user fees on air transportation (such as passenger security fees), and pass along the collected amounts to the appropriate governmental agencies. Although these taxes and fees are not our operating expenses, they represent an additional cost to our customers. There are continuing efforts in Congress and in other countries to raise different portions of the various taxes, fees, and charges imposed on airlines and their passengers, including the passenger facility charge, and we may not be able to recover all of these charges from our customers. Increases in such taxes, fees and charges could impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Under DOT regulations, all governmental taxes and fees must be included in the prices we quote or advertise to our customers. Due to the competitive revenue environment, many increases in these fees and taxes have been absorbed by the airline industry rather than being passed on to the customer. Further increases in fees and taxes may reduce demand for air travel, and thus our revenues.
Risks Related to Ownership of AAG Common Stock
The price of AAG common stock has been and may in the future be volatile.
The market price of AAG common stock has fluctuated substantially in the past, and may fluctuate substantially in the future, due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:
• the effects of external events, such as global health epidemics, on our business or the U.S. and global economies;
• macro-economic conditions, including the price of fuel;
• changes in market values of airline companies as well as general market conditions;
• our operating and financial results failing to meet the expectations of securities analysts or investors;
• changes in financial estimates or recommendations by securities analysts;
• changes in our level of outstanding indebtedness and other obligations;
• changes in our credit ratings;
• material announcements by us or our competitors;
• new regulatory pronouncements and changes in regulatory guidelines;
• general and industry-specific economic conditions;
• changes in our key personnel;
• inclusion of our common stock in broad market indexes favored by passive investors;
• investor preferences to invest in certain sectors, including large technology companies in lieu of industrial or transportation companies;
• public or private sales of a substantial number of shares of AAG common stock or issuances of AAG common stock upon the exercise or conversion of restricted stock unit awards, stock appreciation rights, or other securities that may be issued from time to time, including warrants we have issued in connection with our receipt of funds under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Subtitle A of Title IV of Division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the PSP Extension Law) and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP);
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• increases or decreases in reported holdings by insiders or other significant stockholders;
• fluctuations in trading volume; and
• technical factors in the public trading market for our stock that may produce price movements that may or may not comport with macro, industry or company-specific fundamentals, including, without limitation, the sentiment of retail investors (including as may be expressed on financial trading and other social media sites), the amount and status of short interest in our securities, access to margin debt, trading in options and other derivatives on our common stock and any related hedging and other technical trading factors.
The closing price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market varied from $9.07 to $18.66 during 2025 and $13.30 to $16.00 during 2026 year-to-date through February 13, 2026. At times, fluctuations in our stock price have been rapid, imposing risks on investors due to the possibility of significant, short-term price volatility. While we believe that in recent years this wide range of trading prices has largely reflected the changing prospects for a large airline, based in part on the commentary of market analysts, that the trading price of our common stock has at times been influenced by the technical trading factors discussed in the last bullet above. On some occasions, market analysts have explained fluctuations in our stock price by reference to purported “short squeeze” activity. A “short squeeze” is a technical market condition that occurs when the price of a stock increases substantially, forcing market participants who had taken a position that its price would fall (i.e., who had sold the stock “short”), to buy it, which in turn may create significant, short-term demand for the stock not for fundamental reasons, but rather due to the need for such market participants to acquire the stock in order to forestall the risk of even greater . A “short squeeze” condition in the market for a stock can lead to short-term conditions involving very high and trading that may or may not track fundamental valuation models.
Our ability to utilize our net operating losses (NOLs) and other carryforwards may be limited.
Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), a corporation is generally allowed a deduction for NOLs carried over from prior taxable years. At December 31, 2025, we had approximately $11.9 billion of gross federal NOLs and $6.0 billion of other carryforwards available to reduce future federal taxable income, of which $1.6 billion will expire beginning in 2033 if unused and $16.3 billion can be carried forward indefinitely. We also had approximately $5.0 billion of NOL carryforwards to reduce future state taxable income at December 31, 2025, which will expire in taxable years 2025 through 2045 if unused. Our NOL carryforwards are subject to adjustment on audit by the Internal Revenue Service and the respective state taxing authorities.
Our ability to use our NOLs and other carryforwards depends on the amount of taxable income generated in future periods. There can be no assurance that an additional valuation allowance on our net deferred tax assets will not be required should our financial performance be negatively impacted in the future. Such valuation allowance could be material.
An ownership change may severely limit or effectively eliminate our ability to utilize our NOL carryforwards and other tax attributes. In connection with the expiration in December 2021 of certain transfer restrictions applicable to substantial shareholders contained in our Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors of AAG adopted a tax benefit preservation plan (the Tax Benefit Preservation Plan) in order to preserve our ability to use our NOLs and certain other tax attributes to reduce potential future income tax obligations. The Tax Benefit Preservation Plan was subsequently ratified by our stockholders at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of AAG. On October 31, 2024, AAG entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Tax Benefit Preservation Plan to extend the expiration date to October 29, 2027, which was subsequently approved by our stockholders at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of AAG. The Tax Benefit Preservation Plan is designed to reduce the likelihood that we experience an ownership change by deterring certain acquisitions of AAG common stock. There is no assurance, however, that the deterrent mechanism will be , and such acquisitions may still occur. In addition, the Tax Preservation Plan may affect the marketability of AAG common stock by existing or potential investors from acquiring shares of AAG common stock, because any non-exempt third party that acquires 4.9% or more of the then-outstanding shares of AAG common stock would substantial dilution of its ownership interest in AAG.
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AAG’s Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws and Tax Benefit Preservation Plan include provisions that limit voting and acquisition and disposition of our equity interests and specify an exclusive forum for certain stockholder disputes.
Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws include significant provisions that limit voting and ownership and disposition of our equity interests as described in Part II, Item 5. Market for American Airlines Group’s Common Stock, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities - “ Ownership Restrictions ” and AAG’s Description of the Registrants’ Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, which is filed as Exhibit 4.1 hereto. Further restrictions are set forth in our Tax Benefit Preservation Plan, which was filed as Exhibit 4.1 to AAG’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on December 22, 2021 and amendments to the Tax Benefit Preservation Plan, filed as Exhibit 4.1 to AAG’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 1, 2024. These restrictions, including the ownership limitations described above in “Our ability to utilize our net operating losses (NOLs) and other carryforwards may be limited” , may adversely affect the ability of certain holders of AAG common stock and our other equity interests to vote such interests and adversely affect the ability of persons to acquire shares of AAG common stock and our other equity interests.
Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws also specify that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders. We do not intend for this exclusive forum provision to apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Our Bylaws further provide that the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for claims under the Securities Act. The forum selection provisions may restrict a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim against us or our directors or officers in a forum that it finds favorable, which may discourage stockholders from bringing such claims at all. Alternatively, if a court were to find the forum selection provisions contained in our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in another forum, which could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Certain provisions of AAG’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws make it difficult for stockholders to change the composition of our Board of Directors and may discourage takeover attempts that some of our stockholders might consider beneficial.
Certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, as currently in effect, may have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in control if our Board of Directors determines that such changes in control are not in our best interest and the best interest of our stockholders. These provisions include, among other things, the following:
• advance notice procedures for stockholder proposals to be considered at stockholders’ meetings;
• the ability of our Board of Directors to fill vacancies on the board;
• a prohibition against stockholders taking action by written consent;
• stockholders are restricted from calling a special meeting unless they hold at least 20% of our outstanding shares and follow the procedures provided for in the Bylaws;
• a requirement that holders of at least 80% of the voting power of the shares entitled to vote in the election of directors approve any amendment of our Bylaws submitted to stockholders for approval; and
• super-majority voting requirements to modify or amend specified provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation.
These provisions are not intended to prevent a takeover, but are intended to protect and maximize the value of the interests of our stockholders. While these provisions have the effect of encouraging persons seeking to acquire control of our company to negotiate with our Board of Directors, they could enable our Board of Directors to prevent a transaction that some, or a majority, of our stockholders might believe to be in their best interest and, in that case, may prevent or discourage attempts to remove and replace incumbent directors. In addition, we are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which restricts business combinations with interested stockholders. Interested stockholders do not include stockholders whose acquisition of our securities is approved by the Board of Directors prior to the investment under Section 203.
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The issuance or sale of shares of our common stock or rights to acquire shares of our common stock could depress the trading price of our common stock.
We may conduct future offerings of material amounts of our common stock, preferred stock or other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for our common stock to finance our operations, to fund acquisitions, or for any other purposes at any time and from time to time. Further, additional shares of our common stock may be issued in connection with the exercise of warrants originally issued by AAG to the U.S. Department of Treasury. If these additional shares or securities are issued or sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, the trading price of our common stock could decline substantially. If we issue additional shares of our common stock or rights to acquire shares of our common stock, if any of our existing stockholders sells a substantial amount of our common stock, or if the market perceives that such issuances or sales may occur, then the trading price of our common stock could decline substantially.
