Asia-Pacific flights return for U.S. carriers, but profit concerns linger

China routes remain fraction of pre-pandemic levels as service slowly resumes

20240125N Delta American

Delta Air Lines saw profits rise while American Airlines' profit decreased in the fourth quarter from a year ago. © Reuters

JACK STONE TRUITT, Nikkei staff writer

NEW YORK -- Top U.S. airlines have restored most of their capacity in the Asia Pacific four years after the pandemic began, but empty seats on routes to Asia are hurting margins while a full return of flights between the U.S. and China remains far off.

"As we bring it all back, our goal is to make sure that the Asia Pacific entity produces margins that are similar to that across the rest of our global network," said United Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella in an earnings call this week.

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