American Airlines: 30% of Seats Generate Half of Revenue

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said Wednesday that just 30% of the carrier's seats account for half of its revenue — a figure that is driving the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline and its competitors to rip up existing airplane configurations and add more first-class and other higher-yielding options.

"Those 30% of seats, they're only going to grow in our fleet as the reconfigurations come on board as the new aircraft deliveries come on," Isom said at a Morgan Stanley industry conference, referring to the carrier's premium seat options.

The numbers lay bare a K-shaped split in air travel demand. Premium cabins are delivering outsized returns while the back of the plane lags, and airlines across the market are repositioning to capture the high-spending customer.

Earlier this month, American unveiled a 70-suite business-class cabin on its largest aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER. More planes in the fleet are still awaiting remodeling.

The premium push is central to Isom's effort to close a profitability gap. American had fallen behind its large airline competitors in profits. Isom has said that adding premium seating to capitalize on higher-spending customers — a resilient and bright spot in air travel — is key, especially as airlines try to cover this year's surge in fuel costs, their second-largest expense after labor.

The strategy is not confined to the industry's giants. Smaller and budget carriers, including Allegiant Air and JetBlue Airways, are adding upgraded seat options to appeal to the same flyers.

Isom told CNBC in June that American is also planning a revamp of its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, and that new interiors on its 777-200s are on tap as well. The carrier is set to order new wide-body aircraft this year, Isom said.

The bet carries execution risk. Reconfigurations take planes out of service, and new wide-body orders add capital commitments at a moment when fuel costs are squeezing margins. But if premium demand holds, the carriers that move fastest to expand high-yield seating will capture a disproportionate share of industry revenue — a market where, by American's own math, a third of seats already drives half the money.