Doug Parker, the CEO of American Airlines, doubled down on his remarks last year that the airline isn't "ever going to lose money again," saying airlines need to get past the boom-and-bust cycle of the past. "We're not going to go through these cycles," Parker said at an Axios Smarter Faster Revolution event at the University of Texas in Austin.

Big picture: Parker said things like oil prices approaching 4-year highs shouldn't tip airlines into unprofitability, and now companies like American are stronger to weather those changes. "In the old days it was all about how we're going to survive the next 12 months ... we have the luxury now of thinking long term."