Clear skies at American

American Airlines reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as fuel costs fell, and the airline said it would defer taking delivery of 22 Airbus planes to adjust capacity according to demand.

American’s shares rose 4 percent, closing at $36.36.

However, the company joined Southwest Airlines, the No. 4 US airline by traffic, in warning of a drop in a key profitability metric for the third quarter.