More U.S. Airlines Lower Outlook Due to Economic Uncertainty

American, Southwest and JetBlue released lower first-quarter outlooks on Tuesday, with all three citing broader concerns about the economy.

American said it was expecting total revenues to stay flat after experiencing some softness in domestic demand and the impact of Flight 5342, a fatal collision that took place near Reagan National Airport in January. American was originally expecting an increase of up to 2%.

JetBlue said it expects revenue per available seat mile, or how much revenue it generates for each seat, to stay flat in the first quarter, down from previous guidance that projected an increase by as much as 3.5%.

“JetBlue is also experiencing demand choppiness due to mixed macroeconomic indicators, resulting in trough period revenue performing below expectations in the first quarter,” the carrier said in a regulatory filing, partly attributing the weaker forecast weather-related disruptions. 

Meanwhile, Southwest said California wildfires, a dip in government travel and overall macroeconomic demand trends led its lower-than-expected first quarter guidance. Southwest said it anticipates revenue per available seat mile to be down by as much as 4%.

The Dallas-based carrier also announced bag fees for most fare classes Tuesday morning — one of the most stunning reversals to its business model — as part of an effort to boost revenue.  

The lower outlooks come as the industry grapples with greater economic uncertainty, brought on by mass layoffs in the federal government and the threat of tariffs. 

Delta also said Monday that it expects slower growth during the first quarter, mostly for the same reasons. 

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said on CNBC on Monday that the Atlanta-based carrier saw a “pretty significant shift” in GDP sentiment in February. 

“As a result of that, we saw companies started to pull back in terms of corporate spending, started to stall, consumer spending started to stall,” he said.