Tuesday, November 29, 2011

American Airlines Files Chapter 11


American Airlines and its parent company are filing for bankruptcy protection as they try to cut costs and unload massive debt built up by years of high fuel prices and labor struggles. There will no impact on travelers for now.
The nation's third-largest airline also said Tuesday that CEO Gerard Arpey stepped down and was replaced by company president Thomas W. Horton.
AMR Corp. has continued to lose money while other U.S. airlines returned to profitability in the last two years.
Read the rest at The Huffington Post
American Airlines Bankruptcy: Carrier And Parent Company File For Chapter 11 Protection

3 comments:

Joe C said...

Third story I've read on this today, Tom, but the first that's mentioned the pensions. Shareholders wiped out and jobs/wages to be slashed.

It was refreshing to see a CEO get the boot.

Matt Franko said...

I somewhat blame the vulnerability to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 on what I consider shoddy "free market" security procedures that were put in place by the Airline Industry at that time....

Triple Bogey said...

Very sad day indeed.

I'm an airline pilot that always wanted to fly for AA someday, it was my dream job. Like many others that dream job in this country no longer exists.

AA pilots already took 30% pay cuts in 2003 to help "save" the company and when adjusted for inflation they have taken over 60% in cuts over the past 25-30 years. I can't think of another once respected career that has taken the beaten like the pilot profession has over the past couple of decades. You can count airline pilot as just another middle class job along with many other once great professions. Who even makes up the 1% now? Must be all lobbyists, congressmen, and wall st speculators.

The CEO did not get the boot, he "retired" the day prior just in time to collect his millions. Its funny, all pilots will tell you how evil airline management has been and how they continue to give themselves millions in bonuses every year while cutting union employee employee pay and benefits and yet pilots still go out and vote for these neocon/neolib reps.

I can't get through a trip without some other pilot telling me how the US Government is about to go bankrupt.

Sad day indeed for thousands of pilots that just lost millions in pension benefits while upper management just got millions. Airline pilots have been fighting (and losing) our 99%/1% battles for some time now.

Cheers.