Most of that underperformance in earnings is due to the massive debt load built up since 2010 from the bankruptcy and merger proceedings, upgrading the fleet (AA has the youngest fleet of the Big 3), and COVID and not earnings / revenue - AA was the largest carrier domestically and in LATAM in Q1 2024 and overall passenger revenue was ~$12.5M for Delta, United, and American. Delta's margins benefit from their AmEx deal, the refinery, and their pricing power (giving them a premium) in captive hubs like MSP, DTW, ATL, and SLC - AA has some of that in Dallas, Charlotte, and DCA, but NYC, LA, and Chicago are not good markets for that.

AA's long-term debt is ~$29B today (from a peak of $37B in 2021) and their top goal is reducing that figure - the debt-to-equity ratios for the big 3 are ~2.5 (Delta), ~2.9 (United), and ~5.8 (American). That big debt (and lower credit rating than Delta) means much of that revenue has to go to interest payments - it makes logical sense to focus on that, and defer the H2H vs United at O'Hare, competing at LAX (Delta and JetBlue have both pulled back significantly), or rebuilding in JFK / LGA or Boston until that's back in order which should take ~3 more years.