American Airlines parent AMR Corp. which plans to merge with US Airways Group Inc to form the world's biggest carrier, said it expected to report a second-quarter profit for the first time since 2007.

American Airlines, the third-largest U.S. carrier by traffic, has renegotiated plane leases, cut management and support staff and frozen pension plans to lower costs since filing for Chapter 11 protection in November 2011.

"We expect to report a strong, profitable second quarter - our first since 2007", Chief Executive Tom Horton said on Thursday in a letter addressed to employees and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (http://r.reuters.com/ced39t)

Shares of the company were up 1 percent at $4.03 after markets closed.