American Airlines parent AMR posts loss

American Airlines parent AMR Corp. lost more money in the second quarter as fewer people got on its planes and those who did paid lower fares than a year earlier.

Fort Worth-based AMR was the first major U.S. airline to report results for the quarter, usually a good period for travel. But many companies have reduced travel because of the recession, and that’s hurting the airlines.

AMR’s revenue plunged 21% from a year earlier, swamping the savings that American reaped from cheaper jet fuel prices.

Still, American raised more money from extra fees on baggage and other items, and the financial results weren’t as bad as Wall Street had feared.

AMR said Wednesday that it lost $390 million, or $1.39 a share. Excluding charges related to the sale and grounding of planes, it lost $319 million, or $1.14 a share. On that basis, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had predicted a loss of $1.28 a share.

In the same quarter last year, AMR lost $1.46 billion, or $5.83 a share, stemming mostly from writing down the value of its fleet. Without the charges, the year-earlier loss was $298 million.

Revenue fell to $4.89 billion, a decline of nearly $1.3 billion from a year earlier.

The revenue slide is likely to continue into the fall. AMR officials said bookings through September were running about 1.5% of available seats behind last year’s pace.