Washington — American Airlines said on Thursday it expects to see profits in the second-quarter as demand for passenger travel surges.

The airline forecasted capacity to be approximately 92% to 94% of what it was in the second-quarter of 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

The company also anticipates second-quarter total revenue to be 6% to 8% higher than the the same period three years ago, based on the current demand trends and fuel price forecast.

The airline noted that it produced record sales in March, and it was the first month since the onset of the pandemic that total revenue was above 2019 levels.

The company was profitable excluding net special items in March.

The US carrier reported first-quarter losses when it presented its earnings on Thursday.

First-quarter net loss was $1.64 billion, or $2.52 per share compared to a loss of $1.25 billion, or $1.97 per share, prior year. Excluding items, American Airlines posted an adjusted loss of $1.51 billion or $2.32 per share for the period.

The company's revenue for the quarter rose 121.9% to $8.90 billion from $4.01 billion last year. This included passenger revenues of $7.8 billion, and cargo revenues of $364 million. The company noted that its first-quarter revenue represented a recovery to 84% of comparable period revenue in 2019. Analysts on average had estimated $8.83 billion in revenue.

American ended the first quarter with $15.5 billion of total available liquidity. The company said it remains on track to reduce overall debt levels by $15 billion by the end of 2025. "Our priorities for this year are clear: Run a reliable operation and return to profitability," said CEO Robert Isom.

Shares of American Airlines were up 10% in pre-market trade on Thursday.

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