American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) reported Q1 EPS of $0.61, $0.06 better than the analyst estimate of $0.55. Revenue for the quarter came in at $9.62 billion versus the consensus estimate of $9.6 billion.

• Recorded a first-quarter 2017 pre-tax profit of $365 million, or $491 million excluding net special items,1 and net profit of $234 million, or $308 million excluding net special items
• Reported first-quarter earnings of $0.46 per diluted share, or $0.61 per diluted share excluding net special items
• Deferred the first delivery of Airbus A350 XWBs from 2018 to 2020, delaying capital expenditures and providing additional widebody capacity flexibility
• Announced an unprecedented step to increase hourly base pay for the airline’s crewmembers outside of contract negotiations, bringing those workgroups’ base pay levels to the top of the industry, consistent with other American Airlines workgroups

“We are excited about the long-term prospects for American Airlines, and our first-quarter results only serve to reinforce our enthusiasm. We successfully launched several important commercial initiatives, including Basic Economy and Premium Economy, which are designed to provide more choice for our customers. We expanded our global presence with our planned investment in China Southern Airlines. We continued to make significant investments in our product, including taking delivery of 22 new aircraft. These new deliveries widen our already significant advantage in average fleet age versus our large competitors,” said Doug Parker, Chairman and CEO.

“Investing in our product, however, is not enough to retain our customers’ loyalty if we are not investing in our team. As a service business, it is our team who will differentiate American from the competition. Recently we reiterated a commitment we made when we merged our airlines over three years ago – that team members would be paid as much as their industry peers. This commitment will be realized by adjusting the base pay levels for our flight attendants and pilots outside of contract negotiations.

“The American team did an amazing job of taking care of our customers during the quarter. This commitment was demonstrated in the improvement in our operating reliability, improved mishandled baggage rates, and improved on-time performance. All of this work is being recognized by others, too, as American was named Air Transport World’s Airline of the Year for 2017 and Full Service Airline Brand of the Year by the Harris Poll.

“The future is very bright and we are well on our way to validating the trust placed in us by our team members, our customers and our investors. Today’s results are an affirmation that we are on the proper path to that long-term objective,” Parker said.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on American Airlines (AAL) click here.