Heads up, San Diego. For the first time ever, Royal Caribbean will be basing a cruise ship in the port, starting in October 2026.
24.01.2025 - 16:51 / thepointsguy.com / Robert Isom
Travelers have a lot to look forward to from American Airlines in 2025: New business-class suites, premium lounges and satellite Wi-Fi are coming, as well as a full recovery of its Chicago and Philadelphia hubs.
Those are just a few items that American CEO Robert Isom and other executives outlined during the airline's fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday. The outlook is mostly bright with, as Isom put it, "robust demand across the board" for air travel.
But even those positive words and modest profits in the fourth quarter and full year of 2024 were not enough to appease investors. American's forecast of a first-quarter loss — historically the weakest quarter of the calendar year for U.S. airlines — sent the airline's stock down nearly 9% to $17.03 per share on Thursday.
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"I really feel like we've got all the pieces in the puzzle in place to really take off," said Isom. "Now, we've got some work to do putting that together and selling, and telling our story better, but we are the largest in the best market in the world here in the U.S."
Here are five key takeaways from American's earnings call.
American plans to introduce its new Flagship Suite business-class seats on new Airbus A321XLR and Boeing 787-9 planes later this year, Isom said. The suites are part of a larger investment in premium offerings that includes new premium economy seats and other onboard upgrades.
First unveiled in 2022 as part of the boom in premium — particularly premium leisure — travel demand following the pandemic, the new Flagship Suites were supposed to enter service in 2024. However, the numerous supply chain issues that continue to plague the aerospace industry delayed their debut to this year.
The new seats and cabins will also be installed on American's largest aircraft, the Boeing 777-300ER, at a later date. Isom did not offer an updated timeline for the retrofits that were previously set to begin in late 2024.
As part of the cabin upgrades, American will retire the Flagship First product that it currently offers on its small fleet of premium transcontinental Airbus A321s — the A321Ts — that flies between New York and both Los Angeles and San Francisco, and on the 777-300ER. The airline does not yet have a date for the final flight of Flagship First.
American plans to open a new Flagship Lounge at its Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) hub this summer, Isom said. The lounge will be in the A-West terminal used by American's international flights and available only to travelers booked in long-haul international first or business class, as well as certain elite frequent flyers.
The lounge comes as American builds back its Philadelphia
Heads up, San Diego. For the first time ever, Royal Caribbean will be basing a cruise ship in the port, starting in October 2026.
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