FORT WORTH, Texas—The parent of American Airlines said Thursday that a key revenue measurement is rising and its fuel bill is falling.

Separately, parent AMR Corp. said Thursday it netted $294 million by selling 27.1 million new shares of stock and said the money will go for “general corporate purposes.” AMR had signaled the sales in a Securities and Exchange filing last month.

Chief Financial Officer Thomas Horton said the equity sale will bolster AMR’s balance sheet “and better position our company to manage through what remains a very challenging industry environment.” American said it expects third-quarter revenue per mile flown by paying customers to rise between 9.5 percent and 10.5 percent from a year ago. AMR said in a regulatory filing that including the American Eagle commuter carrier, the companywide increase in so-called unit revenue will range between 9.4 percent and 10.4 percent.

The company said cargo and other revenue would “increase substantially” over the same period in 2007.