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29 Nov 2011 11:03

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Biz: American Airlines parent files for bankruptcy: Will keep normal schedule

  • They were the only major airline to avoid bankruptcy in the past decade: In 2003, American Airlines parent AMR, which also operates the American Eagle airline, managed to stave off bankruptcy by scoring an agreement from its unions. The country’s third-largest airline, however, wasn’t able to get past it this time around. With the company’s stocks in freefall (down 45 percent since September) and a recent wave of pilot retirements playing harbinger, it seemed like signs were pointing towards bankruptcy. Here’s what their financials look like, according to their Chapter 11 filing, which they submitted to a New York court today:
  • $24.7B the amount in assets American Airlines parent AMR has on hand
  • $29.6B the amount in liabilities the company owes to creditors
  • $4.1B the amount of cash the company has on hand source
  • » What this means for consumers: The company says it plans to honor its reservations, keep its normal schedules, continue its frequent-flyer program, maintain its Admirals Club lounges and pay employees their normal wages and health benefits. So outwardly, there should be no obvious signs that the company is trying to reorganize itself. (photo by Clara S. on Flickr)

02 Jan 2011 11:09

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Biz: Is American Airlines screwing over online travel sites?

  • It appears American Airlines is burning online travel bridges. In recent weeks, both Orbitz (who couldn’t reach a contract with the airline) and Expedia (who voluntary took them out) have ditched the airline. Is it possible that these sites have been so successful at their mission that they’ve actually forced airlines to make their flights cheaper? Well, to test this theory, we looked online at American Airlines’ site for travel deals to from DC to Dublin (where we’re taking our girlfriend in the next few months). The average cost at a site like Orbitz was roughly $650 per person for a flight and hotel. The lowest price at AAvacations.com? $1260 per person. It’d be way harder to figure out that was an awful deal if we had to go to every airline to compare prices. AA’s efforts to strongarm online travel sites are simply bad for consumers and should not be supported. Who else has good deals to Dublin? (photo by lrargerich) source

26 Aug 2010 20:13

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Biz: American Airlines could pay huge fine for sucking at fixing wires

  • $24.2 million the size of the fine American Airlines faces for safety violations that led to the grounding of planes in 2008
  • 14,278 flights the number of flights 286 Boeing MD-80s made in violation of a 2006 directive regarding faulty wiring source
  • » Will American Airlines pay the full fine? Probably not. See, a similar fine involving Southwest Airlines was cut from $10.2 million to $7.5 million after the airline and the FAA butted heads. That was the biggest fine in airline history until this one.

03 May 2010 19:02

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Biz: United/Continental merger: Why it sucks to be American Airlines

  • winners United and Continental could become an airline that reaches nearly every major city in the world – necessary to stand out from low-cost domestic carriers.
  • loser American Airlines, their main
    global competitor, has notable
    holes in their direct coverage, especially to fast-growing Asian countries like China. source

07 Jun 2009 21:47

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Biz, Tech: Why do some corporate web sites look like giant clusterducks?

americanairlines0607
  • After graphic designer Dustin Curtis took American Airlines to task for having a terribly-designed site, an interface designer for the airline claimed it wasn’t his fault, but a horrendously broken corporate structure. (And yes, we used “clusterducks” in the headline on purpose.) source