American Airlines cuts outlook on 737 MAX, sees jet flying by mid-August

American Airlines Group Inc cut its 2019 profit forecast on Friday, blaming an estimated $350 million hit from the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX planes during its busiest travel season, but said it was confident the aircraft would start flying by mid-August.

American, the No. 1 US carrier by passenger traffic, said earlier in April that it was extending the grounding of its twenty-four 737 MAX jetliners until Aug. 19, leading to about 115 daily cancellations during the peak summer travel season.

No. 3 US carrier United Airlines also said it expects to cancel hundreds of flights during the peak summer season due to the groundings.

While the cancellations only represent about 2 percent of American’s daily summer flight capacity, the financial impact is disproportionate as revenue during lost while the vast majority of costs remain in place.