芝加哥，10月23日电——美国航空公司越来越倾向于让座位空置，而非单纯通过降价来填满座位，押注严守票价纪律和航班计划将有助于在燃油成本飙升之际保护利润。
CHICAGO, Oct 23 - US airlines are increasingly willing to fly with empty seats rather than slash fares simply to fill them, betting that disciplined pricing and flight schedules will help protect profits at a time of soaring fuel costs.
尽管票价大幅上涨，但需求依然坚挺，这一策略带来了可观的收入增长。然而，自2月美以对伊朗战争爆发以来，喷气燃油价格飙升约90%，利润仍受挤压，迫使多家大型航空公司下调盈利预期。
The strategy has delivered substantial revenue gains as demand has held up despite sharp fare increases. Yet profits have still been squeezed as jet fuel prices surged roughly 90% since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in February, forcing several major carriers to cut earnings forecasts.
达美航空、联合航空、美国航空、西南航空和阿拉斯加航空集团的高管均强调，保护利润率优先于提升客运量。
Executives at Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Air Group have emphasized protecting margins over boosting passenger volumes.
这一决心将在2027年面临考验。行业排班计划显示运力将增加，即使燃油价格预计维持高位，乘客争夺战可能加剧，令今年大幅的票价涨幅更难重演。
Their resolve faces a test in 2027. Industry schedules point to more flying capacity, potentially intensifying competition for passengers even as fuel prices are expected to stay high and making this year's substantial fare gains harder to repeat.
“如果燃油价格保持高位，我们必须继续推高单位收益，以便能赚到一点钱，”美国航空首席财务官德文·梅周四对路透社表示。单位收益是指航空公司每飞行一英里乘客所获得的收入。
"If fuel stays elevated, we have to continue to push yield up so that we can make a bit of money," American Chief Financial Officer Devon May told Reuters on Thursday. Yield is the revenue airlines collect for each mile passengers fly.
据美国航空业协会援引Cirium数据，六大美国航空公司计划在第四季度将国内运力较上年同期增长3.0%，2027年第一季度增长3.8%，增速较第三季度仅0.2%的增幅大幅加快。
Six major US airlines plan to grow domestic capacity 3.0% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier and 3.8% in the first quarter of 2027, a sharp acceleration from just 0.2% growth in the third quarter, according to Airlines for America, citing Cirium data.
据劳工部数据，截至9月的七个月里，美国机票均价同比上涨近23%，远超整体消费品价格3.6%的平均涨幅。
US air fares rose an average of nearly 23% year-on-year in the seven months through September, far outpacing the 3.6% average increase in overall consumer prices, according to Labor Department data.
航空公司仍在寻求涨价。摩根大通称，捷蓝航空周三发起单程国内公布票价上调10美元，此前一周联合航空主导类似涨价，西南航空随后跟进。
Airlines are still seeking increases. JetBlue Airways initiated a $10 one-way increase in domestic published fares on Wednesday, JP Morgan said, following a similar United-led increase the previous week that Southwest subsequently matched.
联合航空表示没有更多可补充的内容，西南航空称不公开讨论定价策略。捷蓝航空未立即回应置评请求。
United said it had nothing further to add, while Southwest said it does not publicly discuss pricing. JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
另辟蹊径 航空公司长期以来都在机票价格与客座率之间寻求平衡。但燃油成本居高不下，让高管们更愿意牺牲客座率、避免打折促销。
A DIFFERENT APPROACH Airlines have long balanced fares against how full their planes are. But elevated fuel costs have made executives more willing to sacrifice occupancy and avoid discounts.
联合航空首席商务官安德鲁·诺切拉在周三的财报电话会上举了个例子。该公司第三季度休闲舱位客座率——即衡量可用座位占用比例的指标——下降了1.3个百分点。
United's commercial chief Andrew Nocella offered an example during Wednesday's earnings call. Its leisure load factor, a measure of how many available seats are occupied, fell 1.3 percentage points in the third quarter.
诺切拉承认，这一降幅显示出“鉴于机票价格较高，存在少量弹性”，但称这是“我们每天都会做的权衡”。美国航空第三季度客座率下降，但客座收益率却跃升逾18%。财务总监梅告诉路透社，这种权衡是刻意为之。
Nocella acknowledged that the decline showed "a small amount of elasticity given higher ticket prices," but called it "a trade we would make every day." American Airlines planes flew less full in the third quarter even as passenger yields jumped more than 18%. Finance chief May told Reuters the trade was deliberate.
达美航空首席执行官埃德·巴斯蒂安也表示，达美一直在“以利润率为导向经营业务”。
Delta has also been "managing the business for margins," CEO Ed Bastian said.
在达美、联合、美航、西南和阿拉斯加航空这五家公司中，第三季度客运收入较去年同期增长近88亿美元，增幅达18%，而客运量增幅不足1%。
Across Delta, United, American, Southwest and Alaska, passenger revenue rose nearly $8.8 billion, or 18%, in the third quarter from a year earlier, while passenger traffic increased less than 1%.
这种分化显示，收入增长现在多大程度上依赖于从每位乘客身上赚取更多收益，而非承载更多乘客。高端产品和乘客结构变化也为收益增长做出了贡献。
The divergence shows how much revenue growth now depends on earning more from each passenger rather than carrying more of them. Premium products and changes in passenger mix have also contributed to the gains.
美国运输安全管理局（TSA）数据显示，第三季度美国机场安检人数较去年同期下降2.9%，引发了关于较高票价是否开始抑制出行需求的疑虑。运力增长有限、廉价航空精神航空停运也对客运量造成了拖累。航空公司高管坚称需求依然强劲。
The Transportation Security Administration screened 2.9% fewer people at US airports in the quarter than a year earlier, raising questions about whether higher fares are beginning to discourage travel. Limited capacity growth and the shutdown of budget carrier Spirit Airlines have also weighed on traffic. Airline executives insisted that demand remains resilient.
“这些较高票价并未导致客流量侵蚀，”西南航空首席执行官鲍勃·乔丹在分析师会议上表示，此前该公司报告称，今年前九个月平均客票价格上涨近22%。2027年的考验但创纪录的收入仍不足以抵御飙升的燃油成本对利润的冲击。根据美国能源信息署的数据，墨西哥湾沿岸现货航空燃油价格已从2月战争爆发前的每加仑2.43美元涨至10月20日的4.63美元。
"Those higher fares are not causing an erosion of volumes," Southwest CEO Bob Jordan told analysts, after the airline reported a nearly 22% increase in average passenger fares in the first nine months of this year. THE 2027 TEST But record revenues have not been enough to shield profits from soaring fuel costs. Gulf Coast spot jet fuel prices have risen from $2.43 a gallon before the war began in February to $4.63 on October 20, according to US Energy Information Administration data.
达美航空和西南航空已下调全年盈利预期，而美国航空尽管旅客收入大幅增加，仍预计全年亏损。
Delta and Southwest have cut their annual earnings forecasts, while American expects a full-year loss despite sharply higher passenger revenue.
航空公司正在审慎审视扩张计划。美国航空打算明年大幅放缓增长步伐，首席执行官罗伯特·艾索姆表示，该公司正在重新评估增开航班是否能产生足够收入以覆盖运营成本。
Airlines are now scrutinizing expansion plans. American intends to slow growth considerably next year, with May saying the carrier was reassessing whether additional flights would generate enough revenue to cover their operating costs.
西南航空承诺不以牺牲盈利能力为代价追求增长，而联合航空高管则警告称，航空公司公布的2027年运力计划可能无法兑现。
Southwest has pledged not to pursue growth at the expense of profitability, while United executives have cautioned that airlines' published 2027 capacity plans may not materialize.
这种克制有助于维持较高票价。但减少飞行会推高每座位运营成本，而进一步推高票价则有可能劝退已经承受大幅涨价的旅客。
Such restraint could help maintain higher fares. But flying less can raise operating costs per seat, while pushing prices higher risks discouraging travelers who have already absorbed steep increases.
但航空公司高管表示，对运力采取纪律性做法可让行业守住定价红利。“我们认为这些单位收益增益具有很强的可持续性，”艾索姆说。
But airline executives say a disciplined approach on capacity can allow the industry to hold on to pricing gains. "We think these yield gains are very sustainable," May said.