American Airlines enjoys first annual profit since 2000=0APosted by the Asb= ury Park Press on 01/17/07=0ATHE ASSOCIATED PRESS=0A Post Comment =0AThe pa= rent of American Airlines, the nation's largest carrier and the second-bigg= est at Newark Liberty International Airport, said today it earned a narrow = profit in the fourth quarter, defying Wall Street's prediction of a small l= oss by overcoming slightly =0Adisappointing revenue with cost-cutting.=0A= =0AAMR Corp. also posted its first full-year profit since 2000, helped by s= trong demand for travel that allowed carriers to raise fares throughout the= year.=0A=0AChairman and Chief Executive Gerard Arpey called the results a = milestone in the company's turnaround.=0A=0AAMR said it earned $17 million,= or seven cents per share, in the Dec. 31 quarter compared to a loss of $60= 0 million, or $3.46 cents per share, a year earlier, when AMR was weighed d= own by special charges.=0A=0AAnalysts expected AMR to lose 13 cents per sha= re in the most-recent quarter.=0A=0AIt marked AMR's third straight profitab= le quarter, the first time the airline company has achieved that since 2000= .=0A=0AAnalysts who track AMR had switched from bulls to bears in late Dece= mber, when the company warned that costs were rising and revenue wasn't gro= wing as fast as Wall Street expected. That triggered the predictions of a f= ourth-quarter loss.=0A=0ARevenue rose 4.4 percent, to $5.40 billion in the = fourth quarter from $5.17 billion a year ago. Analysts expected $5.50 billi= on.=0A=0ABut the company cut its costs even more sharply, by 6.1 percent. A= MR caught a break when fuel prices eased late in the year, as the company r= educed its fuel bill by 8.5 percent, or $135 million -- more than enough to= make the difference between profit and loss for the quarter.=0A=0AFort Wor= th, Texas-based AMR, which also owns the American Eagle regional =0Aairline= , reported that planes were slightly fuller than a year ago, as demand for = travel remained healthy.=0A=0AAmerican's flights ran 80.1 percent full duri= ng the quarter, up 1.5 percentage points in a year, while Eagle flights wer= e 73.6 percent full, an improvement of 3.2 percentage points from a year ag= o.=0A=0AAMR said it earned $231 million, or 98 cents per share, for all of = 2006 compared to a loss of $857 million or $5.18 per share in 2005. Revenue= rose 8.9 percent, to $22.56 billion from $20.71 billion in 2005.=0A=0AArpe= y said AMR improved its financial position and invested in the airline duri= ng 2006 and expects to "build on our momentum in 2007.''=0A=0AAMR cut its t= otal debt by $1.7 billion, but still had $18.4 billion in debt at the end o= f the year.