Why are American Airlines wait times so long?

 According to a July Cato Institute study, visa wait times for inbound travelers have increased from 17 days on average prior to March 2020 to 247 days on average. The State Department has attributed the delays to Covid-19-related issues such as staffing and travel restrictions.

According to Isom, prior to Covid, 43% of international visitors to the United States came from countries where visas were required, such as Brazil, India, and Mexico.

"It's not like we're just limiting ourselves to airfares and ticket prices and airline revenue; those people spent $120 billion when they came into the United States in 2019," he said of visa visitors in 2019.

According to the investment site Seeking Alpha, Isom expressed his displeasure with the visa situation as American reported $13.5 billion in revenue for the third quarter, a record for the airline in any individual quarter and in line with analyst expectations. American's third-quarter revenue increased 13% year on year.

This increase was offset by a 12.9% increase in expenses as fuel prices increased 82% per gallon.

American reported a net income of $483 million for the quarter, up from $425 million in 2019, despite flying nearly 10% less capacity. Increased airfares and high load factors compensated for reduced capacity.

Also Read : Here’s Why American Airlines’ Hold Times Are So Long, and When Things Will Improve

American, like its competitors Delta and United, stated that the good times have continued into the current quarter. American anticipates a 11% to 13% increase in Q4 revenue over 2019, while flying 5% to 7% fewer flights.