North American brands are driving Carnival Corporation’s results this year, according to the company’s 10-Q report filed today. North American brands generated nearly 78 percent of the operating income for the first nine months, up from 57 percent last year. EAA (European, Australian, Asian) brands generated 23 percent of the operating income this year, down from 43 percent last year. (The balance was generated by tours and cruise support.)

For Q3, North American brands represented 63 percent of Carnival’s revenues and 64 percent of operating income, compared to 35 percent and 31 percent for EAA brands.

For Q3, Carnival stated that North American ticket revenues were flat year-over-year, driven by a decline in pricing for European and Alaskan itineraries and a lesser decline in the Caribbean.

However, ticket pricing in Europe declined more, impacted by the direct and indirect consequences of the ship (Concordia) incident and the challenging economic environment.