American Airlines said on Tuesday that it is slashing its second-quarter profit outlook and that its Chief Commercial Officer Vasu Raja will step down in June, prompting shares of the carrier to plummet by more than 7% in after-hours trading.
The company said it is expecting its unit revenue to be down between 5% and 6% when compared to a year ago. It had previously forecasted that revenue would decline between 1% and 3%.
American also updated its adjusted earnings per share estimate, and said it expects that metric to be between $1.00 and $1.15 during the period, down from its previous range of $1.15 and $1.45 earnings per share.
On Raja’s departure, the Fort Worth, Texas-based airliner said that he had served as the company’s CCO since April 2022. Raja joined American in 2004 and held a number of positions across sales, planning, and revenue management, the company said.
Stephen Johnson, American’s chief strategy officer, will assume “leadership of the commercial organization” immediately the company said, noting that he will help in the company’s search for a new CCO.
