The airline earned $649 million, or 78 cents per diluted share, excluding special items, compared with the analysts' average estimate of 77 cents per diluted share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The Wall Street estimates excluded special charges.
Shares rose about 0.6 percent to $47.50 in premarket trading.
(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)