American Plans a Smaller, More Profitable International Network Post-Pandemic

American Airlines is making no small plans for its network recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. But those plans are not necessarily what one might think: It will continue to grow domestically around its largest hubs but internationally it will come back smaller — maybe much smaller — than it was just two years ago.

“The international that will be there [after Covid-19] is going to be way different than the international that went away in 2019," said Vasu Raja, chief revenue officer of the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier, at the Goldman Sachs Industrials and Materials Conference on Wednesday. The key recovery metric will be financial — specifically pre-tax margins — and to a lesser extent traveler demand, for American as it eyes which long-haul markets to return to and which to leave.

On the surface, th