American Airlines (AAL) announced it expects its second quarter profit to come in higher than it had initially expected, as jet fuel costs have sagged and travel demand has surged.

It now expects adjusted earnings per share to come in between $1.45 and $1.65, compared to prior estimates of $1.20 to $1.40.

Revenue per available seat mile, which is watched closely in the industry, is expected to fall roughly 1% to 3%, which beats the prior guidance of a decline of 2% to 4%.

In a 8-K filing, the company said, “This improvement in unit revenue versus prior guidance is driven by continued strength in the demand environment.”

It is expected demand for travel will remain hot throughout the summer.

In May, Expedia Group (EXPE) CEO Peter Kern had noted, “We’re seeing a ton of demand,” adding, “More people want to travel generally. It’s not just revenge travel anymore.”

Expectations for fuel costs are now roughly $2.55 to $2.65 per gallon of fuel, compared to a previous forecast of about $2.65 to $2.75.

Jet fuel costs have been declining for a while, and appear poised to continue to do so, as prices sit roughly 40% lower than this time last year.

Amid fears of a recession, oil prices have been declining, even despite a pledge by Saudi Arabia following the last meeting of OPEC+ to voluntarily reduce production output by an additional 1 million barrels per day.

Stephen Schork, founder and editor of The Schork Report had noted of OPEC’s predicament, “OPEC has to play a very sensitive game here. They certainly want prices higher I would say close to the $80-85 a barrel on the global market. But they certainly don’t want prices much higher than that, because then that increases the chance of economic contraction.”

On Wednesday, American Airlines stock rose 1%, producing a year to date gain of 15% for the stock.

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