American Airlines files for bankruptcy
By Chris Isidore and Blake Ellis@CNNMoney
November 29, 2011: 7:41 AM ET
American Airlines filed for bankrutpcy protection Tuesday morning.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- American Airlines' parent company, AMR Corp., announced Tuesday that it has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The decision comes as the airline tries to "achieve a cost and debt structure that is industry competitive and thereby assure its long-term viability and ability to continue delivering a world-class travel experience for its customers," the company said in a statement Tuesday.
AMR (AMR, Fortune 500) said American Airlines, American Eagle and all other subsidiaries will honor all tickets and reservations and operate normal flight schedules during the bankruptcy filing process, using its $4.1 billion in cash.
American has been widely seen as the weakest of the major airlines for some time now. It has reported a profit in only one quarter since 2007, and it lost $4.8 billion over those 3-1/2 years. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect its losses to continue through at least 2012.
Still the company officials had been insisting that it was not looking at bankruptcy.
As recently as last month, company spokesman Andy Backover, responding to questions about a possible bankruptcy, said "Regarding rumors and speculation about a court-supervised restructuring, that is certainly not our goal or our preference. We know we need to improve our results, and we are keenly focused as we work to achieve that."
The airline even announced a massive order for 460 jets from Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) and Airbus in July in an effort to modernize its fleet.
American was the world's largest air carrier as recently as 2006. But mergers and competition in the field have dropped it to fourth in terms of miles flown by paying passengers, behind United Continental (UAL, Fortune 500), Delta Airlines (DAL, Fortune 500) and Southwest Airlines (LUV, Fortune 500).
Before Tuesday's filing, American and Southwest were the only major U.S. airlines that had not filed for bankruptcy reorganization.
First Published: November 29, 2011: 7:18 AM ET
http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/29/news/companies/american_airlines_bankruptcy/
By Chris Isidore and Blake Ellis@CNNMoney
November 29, 2011: 7:41 AM ET
American Airlines filed for bankrutpcy protection Tuesday morning.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- American Airlines' parent company, AMR Corp., announced Tuesday that it has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The decision comes as the airline tries to "achieve a cost and debt structure that is industry competitive and thereby assure its long-term viability and ability to continue delivering a world-class travel experience for its customers," the company said in a statement Tuesday.
AMR (AMR, Fortune 500) said American Airlines, American Eagle and all other subsidiaries will honor all tickets and reservations and operate normal flight schedules during the bankruptcy filing process, using its $4.1 billion in cash.
American has been widely seen as the weakest of the major airlines for some time now. It has reported a profit in only one quarter since 2007, and it lost $4.8 billion over those 3-1/2 years. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect its losses to continue through at least 2012.
Still the company officials had been insisting that it was not looking at bankruptcy.
As recently as last month, company spokesman Andy Backover, responding to questions about a possible bankruptcy, said "Regarding rumors and speculation about a court-supervised restructuring, that is certainly not our goal or our preference. We know we need to improve our results, and we are keenly focused as we work to achieve that."
The airline even announced a massive order for 460 jets from Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) and Airbus in July in an effort to modernize its fleet.
American was the world's largest air carrier as recently as 2006. But mergers and competition in the field have dropped it to fourth in terms of miles flown by paying passengers, behind United Continental (UAL, Fortune 500), Delta Airlines (DAL, Fortune 500) and Southwest Airlines (LUV, Fortune 500).
Before Tuesday's filing, American and Southwest were the only major U.S. airlines that had not filed for bankruptcy reorganization.
First Published: November 29, 2011: 7:18 AM ET
http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/29/news/companies/american_airlines_bankruptcy/