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American Airlines Boosts Profit On Higher Revenue

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM/AP) -- American Airlines has announced its highest quarterly profit in the history of the airline, and the company will share some of the gains with shareholders.

American Airlines Group Inc. said Thursday that it earned $864 million in the second quarter, up from the $507 million that American and US Airways earned separately a year ago, before their merger.

"We are very pleased to report the highest quarterly profit in the history of American Airlines," said Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. "Our merger is off to a great start and our 100,000 team members are doing a wonderful job working together to take care of our customers."

Excluding specials charges, the company said it earned a record $1.46 billion, or $1.98 per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected $1.95.

Revenue is up 10.2 percent as passengers paid 6.5 percent more per mile for their tickets.

American also says it will pay its first dividend since 1980, buy back up to $1 billion in shares, and spend money to pay off debt and aircraft leases.

(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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