January 20, 1991

American Airlines to Cut About 500 Jobs

By Dallas Morning News

Section: NEWS
Edition: FINAL HOME EDITION
Page: A7
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

FORT WORTH, Texas - Close to 500 American Airlines Inc.

employees are being informed over the next few weeks that they are being laid off due to cutbacks at the Fort Worth-based carrier.

Although the airline would not confirm how many employees are being notified, an American spokesman said Friday that the number actually losing jobs will be far less than the number notified.

Spokesman John Hotard said those getting pink slips may

have seniority rights that allow them to "bump" less senior employees at their present sites or in other cities, or

might qualify them for vacant jobs.

"Once they receive notices and filter through the system and take or decline other jobs, we estimate that less than 250 will actually end up leaving the company," Hotard said.

Hotard said some layoff notices went out Friday, and others will be sent Feb. 1 to ground personnel. No mechanics, pilots or flight attendants are being let go, he said.

"They mainly affect fleet service clerks, who move bags, move cargo, clean aircraft, load airplanes, etc., and some airport agents such as ticket counter agents and gate agents," Hotard said.

After canceling many flights over the Christmas-New Year holidays, American announced two weeks ago that it would

reduce its schedule 11 percent by Feb. 1. It said an illegal pilot sickout forced the airline to cut its schedule to

ensure it could maintain a schedule.

Unions representing pilots, flight attendants and mechanics disputed the company's explanation, saying American trimmed its operations because of the slow economy and a lack of

passengers. The Allied Pilots Association has denied orchestrating or endorsing any illegal job action by pilots.

American will increase the percentage of its pilots in a reserve pool, but will not reduce the number of pilots.

It also has encouraged flight attendants to volunteer for part-time work or take leaves.

Cheryl Leon, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said the company had indicated it would like about 1,200 attendants to take the action. Hotard said about 300 have volunteered so far.

However, American has not notified the APFA, which represents American's attendants, that it plans any layoffs, and management tells the union almost daily that the company doesn't intend to lay off flight attendants, Leon said.

American's contract with its unions requires it to inform them in advance before laying off union members. The flight attendants require 30 days' notice, and the Transport Workers Union contract requires two weeks' notice.

Jerry Hicks, president of TWU Local 513, which represents 5,000 American mechanics, baggage handlers and some other ground personnel in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, said American has not notified him of any local layoffs.

TWU Local 514 president Ed Wilson, based in Tulsa but representing American employees in a number of cities, said only 16 of his 7,000 members will receive layoff notices, including

four in El Paso, five in Oklahoma City, two in St. Louis, one in Memphis and four in Little Rock.

He said he thinks all affected are part-time employees or still in their probationary period.

"It's not going to be that much of an impact on TWU people, and I don't think it'll be very bad," he said. Meanwhile

in Tulsa, "they're hiring every week here."

Record Number: TUL191480

June 20, 1991

AA to Donate Up to $200,000, Crandall Says

By Mitch Maurer

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME EDITION
Page: B1
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

Corporations have a responsibility to support their communities, if not in cash, then in more creative ways, said Robert

Crandall, chairman of American Airlines.

This year, American will donate between $175,000 and $200,000 in cash to nonprofit organizations in Oklahoma, mostly in the Tulsa area, Crandall told a crowd Wednesday at an Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa luncheon. Among organizations enjoying contributions from the city's largest employer

are the Philbrook Museum, the Tulsa Opera and the Arts and Humanities Council.

"Businesses that don't make much money (profits) - which

unhappily include American - no matter how much they want to participate, must be both extremely discerning and creative in finding ways to support the arts and other nonprofit

undertakings," Crandall said.

He said recent tax law changes and a downturn in the airline industry have helped point out the need for wider support for community arts. Because corporations have had less money to donate to program, there has been more competition for those dollars.

"Many arts and other nonprofit groups regard every big corporation as rich," Crandall said. "Some are and some

are not. But all are merely custodians of the assets of

their shareholders.

"As much as I wish it were otherwise, our industry's performance has been consistently dismal, making it extremely difficult to justify large donations, and particularly, cash donations."

Among other ways corporations can support community efforts is through donating employee time. As an airline, American also donates transportation each year to dozens of organizations.

This year, the airline provided trips to foreign destinations for the Kanchi Auction, the Arts and Humanities Council's annual fund raiser. Crandall said American also provided

transportation to the Tulsa Opera Guild, the Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society, a Russian literary group and others.

The airline often is a contributor of time and transportation for humanitarian efforts after natural disasters such as

earthquakes and typhoons.

Crandall said he believes American's balance of giving to the Tulsa community is about right.

"A corporation that gives away resources it needs to meet its primary objectives, no matter how large and strong it may seem, will stay neither large nor strong for very long," he said.

American is particularly proud of two contributions it has made in Oklahoma, Crandall said:

The airline sponsors the Harwelden Institute for

Arts in Education, modeled after New York City's Lincoln

Center Institute. This year, about 30,000 students from

40 Tulsa-area schools will be exposed to visual and performing arts because of the Harwelden program. More than 275 educators donate time to the program.

Caption:
Robert Crandall // Addresses luncheon
PHOTO

Record Number: TUL231010

June 25, 1991

AA displeased with United tax plans

By AP

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 5C
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

OKLAHOMA CITY - OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - American Airlines officials aren't

happy with a proposal that means fuel taxes they pay the

city of Denver may be used to subsidize their leading competitor, United Airlines.

Denver is competing with Oklahoma City and seven other cities for a $1 billion maintenance shop that United plans to build. The maintenance facility would mean 5,000 jobs.

One provision of a $150 million incentive package pledged by the state of Colorado proposes diverting part of the

statewide aviation fuel tax to Denver to be used as an inducement for United.

"Obviously, we're not thrilled at the prospect," American spokesman Marty Heires said Monday in an interview with

The Daily Oklahoman. Heires said from Fort Worth, Texas,

that he did not feel assisting United was a legitimate use of the fuel tax revenue, which is paid by all airlines operating in Denver.

While American is displeased, Continental Airlines expressed support for Denver's program to lure United to Denver.

"Overall, we very much favor anything that will help the economy of Denver," said Continental spokesman Ned Walker in Houston.

Late Monday, the Denver City Council gave final approval to a smaller package of tax breaks that would take effect if Uniteddecided against building its $1 billion maintenance base there.

The new agreement, estimated at between $43.5 million and $66 million, calls for United to lease up to 45 gates on

the airport's opening day in late 1993. It also requires

United to locate a 2,000-job reservation center at Stapleton International Airport.

The airport facilities United would take in the agreement are the same as those outlined in an earlier accord.

The council has already approved a $175 million package for the airline if United decides to bring the maintenance facility with its large number of new jobs to Denver.

The state has made United a separate offer worth about $150 million to attract the base. Currently, United is awaiting answers to two questions: whether the Colorado Supreme Court will find the state's offer constitutional, and whether

a reserve fund can be raised through local firms and governments to guarantee bonds in the state offer.

He said the company is waiting for a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court on the legality of the package being offered United.

"We have made no decision as to what action we might take," Heires said. He said no decision would be made until after the Colorado court rules.

The Chicago-based United hopes to make a site decision by July 1, although the process could take until August. Other cities besides Denver and Oklahoma City on the list are

Martinsburg, W.Va.; Louisville, Ky.; Rantoul, Ill.; Cincinnati; Indianpolis; Greensboro, N.C., and Dulles International

Airport near Washington, D.C.

Record Number: TUL232173

July 2, 1991

Crandall eyes global AA scope

By DON STEWART

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL
Page: 4C
Estimated Printed Pages: 3

Article Text:

LONDON - American Airlines President Robert Crandall

said today that American was prepared to compete with any airline in the world in any country.

Crandall said restrictions on U.S. airline access to British airports hindered economic growth, and he challenged the

British government to open landing rights to London's Heathrow Airport to any airline that wished to fly there.

Crandall said American's purchase earlier this year of Heathrow landing rights from TWA for $445 million was an example

of how restricted some European markets have become.

He was speaking here the day after American debuted its new service to Heathrow.

Asked by a British reporter if American would favor equal access of European carriers to U.S. markets, Crandall said, "American's position has been that the best aviation environment is a completely deregulated aviation environment.

"American Airlines has no objection to foreign carriers having access to U.S. markets as long as U.S. carriers have the same access to foreign markets."

Under a 1976 agreement between Great Britain and the United States, Great Britain limited access to Heathrow to two

U.S. carriers: TWA and Pan Am.

When TWA and Pan Am got into financial trouble, the governments renegotiated the agreement to allow United Airlines and

American to fly routes purchased from Pan Am and TWA, respectively.

Crandall said open markets benefit aviation consumers and the economy.

As an example, he said American had invested $2 billion in facilities, aircraft and labor in London since acquiring landing rights from TWA. American also hired 300 former

TWA employees and 250 new employees to staff American's

presence at Heathrow, London's and Europe's busiest airport.

Crandall challenged the British government to open access to Heathrow.

In reply to a journalist's question, he said American would like to fly to Heathrow from Americans' hubs in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; San

Jose, Calif.; and Seattle, Wash.

"This will mean more business, more service, more jobs and more wealth to the United Kingdom," Crandall said.

"And we do not see why the U.K. government has opposed that."

With the purchase of the routes, American now flies eight daily flights to Heathrow.

American's European route network includes three daily flights to Heathrow from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport; two

daily flights from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and single flights from Newark, N.J.; Boston; and Miami,

and beginning July 21, from Los Angeles International Airport.

American also flies two daily flights from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and one flight, beginning July 21,

from New York to London's Gatwick Airport.

American's Heathrow service follows by one month its launching of daily non-stop flights from Chicago to Gatwick.

American, based in Fort Worth, Texas, is the largest international carrier from Chicago, operating to and from 75 cities, including 10 in Europe.

Gatwick, which is the focus of London's charter aircraft flights, is considered less of a prize than Heathrow, which American had sought for years.

In May, American began round-trip flights to Milan, Italy, from Chicago.

American now operates more flights to and from Europe than any other U.S. carrier. It has 206 weekly flights to and

from seven U.S. gateway cities to and from 12 European airports in eight countries. Its share of flights to Europe is 13.7 percent.

American also is the largest U.S. carrier flying to Great Britain. It has 105 weekly flights to airports in London, Manchester and Glasgow, Scotland, to and from seven U.S.

gateways. Its share of the flights is 21.8 percent.

In 1989, the latest year for which figures are available, U.S. carriers divided up the London traffic as follows:

American - 202,976 passengers, or 2.4 percent of the market;

Continental - 641,417, or 7.7 percent;

Delta - 316,351, or 3.8 percent;

Northwest - 327,604, or 3.9 percent;

Pan Am - 1.4 million, 17 percent;

TWA - 1.2 million, 14.6 percent;

USAir/(Piedmont) - 101,513, 1.2 percent;

British Airways - 3.07 million, 37 percent;

Virgin Atlantic - 493,145, 5.9 percent;

Other carriers - 520,366, 6.3 percent.

Total London traffic - 8.3 million passengers.

Record Number: TUL234067

July 2, 1991

AA presses U.K. on open skies

By DON STEWART

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 4C
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

LONDON - American Airlines President Robert Crandall

said today that American was prepared to compete with any airline in the world in any country.

Crandall said restrictions on U.S. airline access to British airports hindered economic growth, and he challenged the

British government to open landing rights to London's Heathrow Airport to any airline that wished to fly there.

Crandall said American's purchase earlier this year of Heathrow landing rights from TWA for $445 million was an example

of how restricted some European markets have become.

He was speaking here the day after American debuted its new service to Heathrow.

"American Airlines has no objection to foreign carriers having access to U.S. markets as long as U.S. carriers have the same access to foreign markets."

Under a 1976 agreement between Great Britain and the United States, Great Britain limited access to Heathrow to two

U.S. carriers: TWA and Pan Am.

When TWA and Pan Am got into financial trouble, the governments renegotiated the agreement to allow United Airlines and

American to fly routes purchased from Pan Am and TWA, respectively.

Crandall said open markets benefit aviation consumers and the economy.

As an example, he said American had invested $2 billion in facilities, aircraft and labor in London since acquiring landing rights from TWA. American also hired 300 former

TWA employees and 250 new employees to staff American's

operations at Heathrow, London's and Europe's busiest airport.

In reply to a journalist's question, he said American would like to fly to Heathrow from Americans' hubs in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; San

Jose, Calif.; and Seattle, Wash.

"This will mean more business, more service, more jobs and more wealth to the United Kingdom," Crandall said.

"And we do not see why the U.K. government has opposed that."

With the purchase of the routes, American now flies eight daily flights to Heathrow.

American's European route network includes three daily flights to Heathrow from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport; two

daily flights from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and single flights from Newark, N.J.; Boston; and Miami,

and beginning July 21, from Los Angeles International Airport.

American also flies two daily flights from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and one flight, beginning July 21,

from New York to London's Gatwick Airport.

American's Heathrow service follows by one month its launching of daily non-stop flights from Chicago to Gatwick.

American, based in Fort Worth, Texas, is the largest international carrier from Chicago, operating to and from 75 cities, including 10 in Europe.

Gatwick, which is the focus of London's charter aircraft flights, is considered less of a prize than Heathrow, which American had sought for years.

In May, American began round-trip flights to Milan, Italy, from Chicago.

American now operates more flights to and from Europe than any other U.S. carrier. It has 206 weekly flights to and

from seven U.S. gateway cities to and from 12 European airports in eight countries. Its share of flights to Europe is 13.7 percent.

American also is the largest U.S. carrier flying to Great Britain. It has 105 weekly flights to airports in London, Manchester and Glasgow, Scotland.

Caption:
Crandall
PHOTO

Record Number: TUL234068

July 4, 1991

AA miles hit record

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL
Page: 7B
Estimated Printed Pages: 1

Article Text:

FORTH WORTH - American Airlines said revenue passenger miles last month exceeded all records for June.

American flew 7.4 billion revenue passenger miles in June, an increase of 8.1 percent compared with June 1990.

Available seat miles in June rose 9.6 percent to 11.2 billion.

"We witnessed three of the busiest days in American's history on June 20, 23 and 27 when the airline flew 272.5 million, 273.6 and 284.4 million revenue passenger miles, respectively," said Robert W. Baker, American's executive vice president-operations.

In cargo traffic, freight ton miles increased 10.1 percent, to 71 million ton miles, during June.

International load factors declined 3.9 points during June to 69.7 percent from the period a year ago.

Five additional record days are expected in July with the addition of new service to London's Heathrow Airport from five U.S. gateways.

Record Number: TUL234599

July 14, 1992

Appeals court backs fired AA mechanic

By AP

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 5B
Estimated Printed Pages: 1

Article Text:

DENVER (AP) - A federal appeals court has restored a jury's decision that American Airlines illegally fired a Tulsa

mechanic for union activities.

U.S. District Court in Tulsa earlier had upheld American Airlines' firing of Scott Davies' despite the jury verdict that the firing was illegal.

The airline argued that Davies' lawsuit over his firing

was a "minor dispute" covered by the Railway Labor Act

and that the courts are pre-empted from hearing such disputes. Before that, an arbitrator had upheld the firing.

Davies appealed the court's decision.

The appeals court found Monday that Davies had the right to sue American over the firing, based upon court precedent that provides a right of action to employees who are fired in violation of public policy.

The firing was precipitated by Davies using American's name in a newspaper advertisement that he placed announcing a

debate between two unions concerning representation of aircraft mechanics with the carrier.

American said he had used the company name without permission and made it appear the airline sponsored the debate.

When Davies refused to promise he would not repeat the wrongdoing, American fired him.

Davies argued that American fired him to stop his union activity and not to stop his violations of its rules.

Because public policy supports the right to select union representation, Davies argued that his firing violated public policy and entitled him to recover.

The jury agreed that American was motivated by anti-union feelings.

American officials could not be reached for comment today.

Record Number: TUL332810

July 22, 1991

TWA, AA make bid for Pan Am assets

By AP

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 7C
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

NEW YORK (AP) - Trans World Airlines and American Airlines today plunged into the bidding for parts of bankrupt sister Pan Am, offering a $310 million package for key operations and routes divvied up between them.

TWA Chairman Carl Icahn, whose own airline has been flirting with bankruptcy, said the joint proposal with American would save 14,000 to 15,000 jobs at Pan Am.

The proposal was almost certain to incite a bidding struggle for what remains of Pan Am, one of the oldest and best known U.S. airlines that pioneered commercial aviation but has

been foundering badly for months.

The airline sought refuge under federal bankruptcy law in January and has been seeking to sell itself in pieces to

satisfy creditors. Any purchase of Pan Am assets would require approval of the bankruptcy court.

Earlier this month, Delta Air Lines offered $260 million for largely the same operations that TWA and American want. United Airlines and Northwest Airlines also have been nosing around the leftovers.

Pan Am spokesman Elizabeth Hlinko confirmed the TWA-American offer was received but said she could not comment further.

Delta spokesman Neil Monroe said the airline had offered what he described as a fair package to Pan Am. He declined to speculate on whether Delta would now amend its offer

because of the TWA-American proposal.

Nonetheless, Monroe said, "the fact that there are spoilers out there who want to come in at the last moment and undo the deal isn't unanticipated. We're prepared to deal with that."

TWA said in a statement that its $310 million proposal included $280 million cash and $30 million in ticket liabilities.

TWA said it would obtain $250 million of the financing from American and would split up purchased routes with American.

Under the offer, American would get Pan Am's East Coast shuttle and Pan Am routes between the United States and

Italy and Spain, Portugal and Italy.

TWA would get the Frankfurt operation and routes between London, Miami, Fla., and Detroit.

In addition, TWA said that it would arrange a $140 million equity infusion for whatever remains of Pan Am.

The TWA statement said that plan would result in ownership of the reorganized Pan Am by a mix of TWA, Pan Am and outside investors.

"The combination of TWA and Pan Am represents the best opportunity for the survival and success of TWA-Pan Am,"

Icahn said. He said it is also in the best interests of

the airlines' creditors, employees and travelers.

TWA has been weathering severe financial troubles of its own over the past several months.

Record Number: TUL239416

July 23, 1991

`No-lose situation'
AA offer for Pan Am assets called smart way to thwart United, Delta

By Fort Worth Star-Telegram c

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL
Page: 5C
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

FORT WORTH - By teaming up with financially weak TWA to

bid on key assets of Pan Am, American Airlines is in an

enviable position.

American either will get what it wants from bankrupt Pan Am, or it could block rival Delta and United airlines from getting what they want.

Earlier this month, Delta submitted a $260 million offer

to buy prime assets of Pan American World Airways. United's more recent bid was rejected, but the No. 2 U.S. carrier

may be preparing another offer, experts say.

"It's a no-lose situation for American," said John Ash, president of Global Aviation, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm.

"The worst-case scenario is that this (the American-TWA bid) crashes, but in the meantime it delays the Delta deal by 30 to 60 days.

"The bankruptcy judge handling Pan Am's case must take all of the offers and give them serious consideration. And that will take time," Ash said.

But time may be running out for Pan Am, which faces a cash crisis.

Knowledgeable sources say the carrier has only enough cash on hand to meet one more payroll at the end of this month.

If Pan Am were forced to shut down because of a cash shortage before it could sell its international route rights, those rights would revert to the U.S. government. The Transportation Department then would hold formal route cases to allocate them to other carriers.

Even in the non-competitive route cases, that process takes about six months. And in recent years, highly competitive route cases have stretched as long as two years.

"If American can't get the Pan Am assets it wants through its deal with TWA, but it can delay Delta or even United

from acquiring those rights long enough for Pan Am to run out of money, then American wins," said one industry source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"It could take months, even years for Pan Am's European routes to be redistributed. Meanwhile, American would be

building its strength in the European markets."

In the event Pan Am gives up its international route rights because of a shutdown, the government is unlikely to give any one carrier all of those rights, the source said.

Adhering to recent government policy, the agency would be much more likely to give several carriers a handful of the former Pan Am routes.

American "would still win," the source said, because it would have successfully blocked a major rival from taking control of a big block of highly desirable assets.

To avoid such a scenario, Delta may increase its bid for certain Pan Am assets, Ash said.

But Jackie Pate, a Delta spokesman, said Monday that officials of the Atlanta-based carrier are standing by their $260

million offer for Pan Am assets, which she said is in the best interests of Pan Am's creditors and employees.

"From what we can tell of the TWA offer, we think that our offer is still very much in the running. It is a very strong offer," she said.

"We are a very strong and stable company financially. Meanwhile, TWA has had some financial problems itself and has openly discussed the possibility that it might have to seek bankruptcy protection itself.

"They have missed some of their debt payments and we think the government might have some questions on that score,"

Pate said.

She also took issue with the reported value of Trans World Airlines' offer for Pan Am assets.

Record Number: TUL239628

August 8, 1991

Column: Business pulse

AA traffic sets record

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 8C
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

DALLAS - American Airlines said that its revenue passenger miles increased 13.5 percent to 8.2 billion in July, making it the largest traffic volume month in the history of the airline.

The jump of 980.8 million in American's July revenue passenger miles surpasses the number of miles flown by American in

1945, said Michael W. Gunn, American's senior vice

president-marketing.

Gunn said much of the increase was fueled by addition of

service in July to Europe, particularly London's Heathrow Airport, from seven U.S. gateway cities. Revenue passenger miles to Europe for the month grew 37.3 percent over the

same period a year ago.

Record Number: TUL243774

August 8, 1991

AA Sets Volume Record

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME EDITION
Page: B2
Estimated Printed Pages: 1

Article Text:

DALLAS - American Airlines reported that system revenue

passenger miles increased 13.5 percent to 8.2 billion in

July, making it the largest traffic volume month in the

history of the airline. American's systemwide load factor increased 2.5 points in July to 69.3 percent.

The jump of 980.8 million in American's July revenue passenger miles surpasses the total RPMs flown by American in 1965, said Michael W. Gunn, American's senior vice president-marketing.

Gunn said much of the increase was fueled by the addition of new service in July to Europe, particularly London's

Heathrow Airport, from seven U.S. gateway cities. Revenue passenger miles to Europe for the month grew 37.3 percent against the same period a year ago. Load factors have been particularly strong on all of American's new, international routes, including Chicago-Milan, Miami-Madrid, the London Heathrow service and our expanding Latin American network.

"In addition to the traffic strength we're seeing on our international flights, the U.S. market continues to gain

strength," Gunn said. "Traffic for the contiguous 48 states rose 8.6 percent in July against the same period a year

ago for the best year-over-year performance in 17 months."

Cargo continues its strong performance as well, with increases for the month in both freight and mail.

Systemwide freight ton miles grew 7.7 percent, to 69.9 million ton miles, during July compared to the same period in 1990.

Record Number: TUL243869

August 30, 1991

AA, union agree to extend pact

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 7C
Estimated Printed Pages: 1

Article Text:

American Airlines Inc. said today said it has forged a

pact with the Transport Workers Union of America to extend current labor agreements.

The new agreements include enhancements in pay and benefits for the more than 28,000 mechanics and ground employees

represented by the TWU, American said.

Details of the agreements will not be released until the

TWU membership has had an opportunity to vote on them, Ralph Craviso, vice president of employee relations for American, and Ed Kozlatek, international vice president of the TWU, said in a prepared statement.

The current set of labor agreements becomes amendable March 1, 1993.

"We are very pleased that, after intense negotiations with the company, we were able to negotiate new pay and benefit provisions that will be very beneficial to our membership," Kozlatek said.

"We are delighted that we have been able to reach this accord," Craviso said. "This pact will allow us to prudently plan for the future and to maintain our cooperative relationship with the Transport Workers Union."

American and the TWU began talks earlier this month on vacation policies and benefits issues that would have required modifications to the existing contracts. The agreement to extend the pacts was reached this week, Craviso said.

Record Number: TUL249447

September 4, 1991

Column: Business pulse

Ideas at AA to buy 757

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL
Page: 5B
Estimated Printed Pages: 1

Article Text:

FORT WORTH - American Airlines' employee-suggestion program will save $50 million this year, according to Chairman and President Robert L. Crandall.

That will bring savings through suggestions to $180 million in four years, Crandall said.

"Since ideas are intangible, we want a way to demonstrate their importance to our employees and shareholders," he

said. "Thus, we'll use this year's savings to buy a brand new 757" airliner.

American's 50th Boeing 757, being assembled in Seattle, is scheduled to be delivered to American in January.

Crandall said 160 program participants will fly on the maiden flight of the 757 from Seattle to American's Maintenance

& Engineering Center at Tulsa International Airport and

then to Dallas-Fort Worth.

American honors employee participants in the program with credits good for prizes and cash awards.

Record Number: TUL250640

September 4, 1991

Union weighing AA offer

By DON STEWART

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 5B
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

A proposed contract between American Airlines and its

28,000 mechanics and ground workers is being viewed as a

significant development in the company's long-term strategy for growth, according to analysts and union and company officials.

Although the agreement is not scheduled to be voted on by the Transport Workers Union of America until later this

month, union informational meetings to discuss it are being held around the country starting today.

The TWU represents 6,500 workers at American's Maintenance & Engineering Center at Tulsa International Airport.

Ed Wilson, president of TWU Local 514, 11929 E. Pine St., said he will urge membership approval of the pact, which

is an extension of the current labor contract that becomes amendable on March 1, 1993.

"Both the company and our members have mutual interests and we came up with an honorable settlement of those interests," Wilson said.

"I think this agreement is going to meet the interests of our people."

The proposed contract includes pay and benefit increases, broadened vacation benefits and a reduced progression rate from the bottom to the top of the pay scale, from 12 years to five and nine years, Wilson said.

The progression rate is the time it takes a beginning worker to reach the top of the union pay scale.

Details of the agreement will not be released until the union membership votes on it, said Ed Kozlatek, international vice president of the TWU, and Ralph Craviso, vice president of employee relations for American.

Coupled with the three-year contract the company signed with the Allied Pilots Association in February, the proposed agreement would solidify the company's labor costs with

two of its three unions through the middle of the decade.

American's contract with more than 12,000 members of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants is scheduled to expire in 1992, company officials said.

In the volatile airline industry - where several carriers are flying under federal bankruptcy protection and American, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines are emerging as the

U.S. world-class carriers - solid labor agreements are integral to long-term planning, industry observers said.

Helane Becker, an airline analyst with Shearson Lehman in New York, said any time a company can avoid a protracted

and divisive labor dispute it comes out a winner.

"Obviously, for the company, it allows them to focus on their growth strategy and their real competitors instead

of focusing on internal battles," Becker said.

Wilson and other union leaders said the proposed agreement would mean security for workers and the company.

"One reason we came up with this agreement early is to allow American Airlines to secure financing for additional aircraft and facilities for continued growth, which is in our mutual interests," Wilson said.

"As the company grows and has a stable work force, we meet labor's goals: good wages, good benefits, safe working conditions and dignity on the job."

In May 1989, American and the TWU agreed to a three-year contract worth $610 million in wage and benefit increases. The agreement was reached after 2 1/2 weeks of mediation by federal officials and rejection by the membership of the company's initial offer.

Record Number: TUL250641

September 5, 1991

AA union members rip proposal
Rank and file jeers contract plan

By DON STEWART

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 9B
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Index Terms:
CORRECTION

Article Text:

Opposition to a proposed two-year contract calling for 4

percent wage increases in 1993 and 1994 may doom a proposed settlement between American Airlines and one of its largest unions, members say.

In an hour-long meeting in Tulsa Wednesday, punctuated with jeers and epithets shouted at officers of Local 514 of the Transport Workers Union of America, about 500 American mechanics and ground workers indicated that a vote later this month on the proposed agreement may not come out as union leaders had hoped.

Bob Kirk, 31, an American mechanic for 1 1/2 years and one of a dozen union members who challenged union leaders on

the proposal, told Local 514 President Ed Wilson he was

out of touch with the union rank and file.

"Just tell me how do we, the union members, change the union negotiating team - because they do not have their

fingers on the pulse of this membership," Kirk said.

"I want them all out of there."

Kirk's statement was greeted by shouts and general cheers and applause.

Wilson said the union negotiating team could be voted out only by a majority vote of all the union locals nationally.

His statement was nearly drowned out by further jeers and boos.

The informational meeting, held at the Expo-Square Pavilion, 19th Street and New Haven Avenue, was one of three held

Wednesday by the local to explain details of the proposal to members. A vote on the proposed two-year contract will be held after Sept. 16.

The TWU represents 7,300 workers at American's Maintenance & Engineering Center at Tulsa International Airport and

26,000 workers nationally.

The TWU membership has tripled locally and nearly doubled nationally during the past eight years in response to increased hiring under American President Robert Crandall's growth

plan.

Many of those hired since 1983 are among those who are opposed to the proposed agreement.

Wilson opened the meeting by urging members to vote "yes" on the proposed agreement.

Following his introduction, Matt Makela, 26, who has been a mechanic at American for seven months, reminded Wilson

that at a July union meeting Wilson warned members the company could propose a contract extension before United Airlines mechanics ratify a new contract.

United mechanics are in negotiations with the company on a new contract.

"You said you thought we should hold out, that the company may try to `cheap' us," Makela said.

"I want to know why you are changing colors in one month's time."

Wilson said members were being offered the industry's standard scale.

The pact would increase beginning mechanics' salaries from $12.30 to $12.79 an hour, liberalize vacation benefits and permit members to advance from the bottom to the top of

the salary scale in five and nine years.

Under the existing contract, the top hourly wage for a veteran mechanic is $20.58. The new contract would increase that

to more than $24 per hour.

But many at the meeting believe that United mechanics will settle for considerably larger wage increases - and that

Crandall wants to settle with the TWU before the United

settlement becomes public.

Mike Johnson, 38, who has been with American two years, said he has several friends who are mechanics at United

in Denver.

"The rumor is that they are going to settle in the

high-$20-per-hour range," Johnson said.

"They are real close to voting on it from what I understand."

Correction: A CORRECTION TO THIS STORY WAS PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 6, 1991. SEE ACCESS NUMBER 251266 FOR COMPLETE TEXT OF CORRECTION.

Record Number: TUL250970

September 12, 1991

American will slash spending

By Tribune staff and wire reports; Graph, N.Y. Times News Service

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 7B
Estimated Printed Pages: 3

Article Text:

In the company's first retrenchment in eight years, American Airlines President Robert Crandall says the company is planning to cut spending over the next five years by more than $500 million.

Crandall said fares may need to go up to bolster the bottom line.

Speaking to securities analysts in New York on Wednesday, Crandall, chairman of American's parent, AMR Corp., said

one big item to be reduced will be spending on aircraft.

The airline figures on trimming $400 million over the next two years and more than $500 million over five years.

It is the first announced cutback at American, the largest U.S. airline, since Crandall announced a 10-year growth

plan in 1983.

"Profits simply aren't what they need to be," Crandall said.

"We're looking at food, advertising - every single item of controllable expenses," he said.

During the past eight years, American has expanded its aircraft fleet from fewer than 300 to more than 600 planes and nearly doubled its worldwide employment to 105,000.

In March, Crandall told American employees in Tulsa that the company planned a further five-year $20 billion investment in new aircraft, terminal and gate facilities in its effort to become the leading carrier in every market it served

around the globe.

Ed Wilson, president of Local 514 of the Transport Workers Union of America, which represents about 6,500 American

mechanics at the Maintenance & Engineering Center at Tulsa International Airport, said Crandall's announcement would not be significant for Tulsa employees.

"They are talking about a $21 billion investment they are going to make in the next five years - and they are going to back off that by $500 million?" Wilson said.

"Percentage-wise, that's not much. I don't think it will have any effect at all here in Tulsa."

Crandall said fare wars are part of the problem. He lashed out at executives at some competitors "who seem to believe their mission in life is to put every living human being

on an airplane - at any price - and who have failed to do their economic homework ..."

"This get-'em-on-the-plane mentality is exacerbated by the fact that more than 25 percent of our industry's capacity is being operated by bankrupt and near-bankrupt carriers," Crandall said. "As we all know, such carriers often price to raise cash, which makes absolutely no sense in a long-term, capital intensive industry like ours."

Crandall also attacked the government, saying lawmakers who require a wheelchair on board each widebody aircraft

should be "more realistic about acknowledging their costs." He also said a proposal to remove seats next to emergency exits will be expensive while having no "measurable impact on passenger safety."

Most analysts saw Crandall's cost-cutting plans as a sensible move as the industry struggles to recover from losses brought on by the Persian Gulf War and the recession.

"The hard times have affected the top of the pack since the invasion of Kuwait last summer, but it's finally affected at least one company's thinking of their overall aircraft order plan," said Mark Daugherty, who follows airlines

for Dean Witter Reynolds Inc.

"The high costs and the price discounting in the industry are resulting in sub-standard profit returns, and therefore a company such as American can't justify investing as much in new aircraft for expansion," Daugherty said.

American's stock, and that if chief rivals, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, moved higher Wednesday. But the planned cutbacks by American, based in Fort Worth, Texas, sent stock prices of aircraft manufacturers lower.

AMR stock shot up $3.125 per share to $59, while Delta rose $2.125 to $65.875 and UAL Corp. was up $1.75 cents at $129.50. But among aircraft manufacturers, Boeing Co. fell $1.125

to $50 and McDonnell Douglas fell $2 to $54.125.

Caption:
CHART/GRAPH

Record Number: TUL252823

September 15, 1991

Automated Warehouse Works for AA

By Mitch Maurer

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME EDITION
Page: G1
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

After two years operating in its Tulsa

automated warehouse, American Airlines liked the system

so much it is building two more.

The 185,000-square-foot warehouse was built during American's last Maintenance & Engineering Center expansion and is considered one of the most advanced in the industry.

It is the heart of American's maintenance operations.

"When we designed this, we spent a lot of days and nights sitting around asking each other `do you think this will

work?' This is the first automated warehouse American ever built and we wanted to do it right," said Don Neuhaus,

managing director of materials management.

"It has worked so well, we are building a second and third one."

American expects to complete a similar warehouse by January at Alliance Airport near Dallas. The company is also constructing a large automated warehouse at its satellite maintenance

facility in Chicago.

Both those warehouses are modeled after the prototype computerized facility in Tulsa.

The heart of the Tulsa warehouse is a room with two small computers - each about 2 feet tall - and a rack of 60

automobile-size 12-volt batteries.

"We can't afford to ever have this building shut down where we can't get a part," Neuhaus said.

Electricity to the plant runs through the batteries to keep them fully charged. In case of a power failure, the batteries are also hooked up to a diesel-powered generator so the

warehouse can keep running long after the batteries would have normally drained.

At any given moment, about $200 million of American's $1.1 billion worth of parts lies on the shelves of the Tulsa

warehouse. Every day, six to eight trucks move through the facility, carrying or bringing needed aircraft parts.

When a mechanic needs any small parts, such as aircraft hardware, a worker in the warehouse looks at his computer screen and pushes a button. That electronic pulse sets things into motion in a two-story room next door.

In between 20-foot high rows, an automatic crane whisks down a railroad track until its computer tells it to stop in front of one of thousands of small trays, The crane reaches out and grabs the tray, carrying it to a conveyor belt.

The conveyor belt takes the tray to a computerized workstation in the adjoining room where the computer screen tells a

worker the number of parts needed and in which compartment of the tray the part is located.

The bar-coded part is then scanned, packaged and placed in a tray which takes it to the shipping dock for its final journey.

"There is always a crane waiting if someone needs a part," Neuhaus said. "You can try to work faster than the crane, but it can't be done."

The parts are also prioritized. If an aircraft is on the ground awaiting a special part, the computer flags the order so workers know to ship that part before regular orders.

"When I see AOG (aircraft on ground) on an order, I put that one part in a tray and get it down the tracks as fast as possible," said Danny Patty, an American warehouse worker. "Everything else has to wait a few seconds because you

have to get those planes back flying."

Larger parts are stored in another part of the antiseptically clean warehouse. There, workers log onto a computer of a

forklift-like machine. The computer is sent instructions

using radio waves. When the user logs on the machine, the computer tells him what part to retrieve or store.

Caption:
An automated robot retrieves a part (top photo) at American Airlines' Tulsa maintenance base warehouse. Phil Catlett receives instructions from a computer aboard a turret he will use to retrieve a part from a shelf (bottom photo).
PHOTO
Steve Crane

Record Number: TUL253655

October 2, 1991

Column: Business pulse

Unit Corp. buys wells

By AP

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 5B
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

AA starts flights

FORT WORTH - American Airlines has inaugurated daily

non-stop service between Seattle/Tacoma and Tokyo, its third U.S. gateway to Japan. It also began daily non-stop flights between Seattle and Miami, Fla., today.

On American's service between Seattle and its Miami hub, passengers can connect with 65 cities on 155 daily non-stop flights operated by American and American Eagle, its regional affiliate.

The Miami-Seattle route will be served by a 194-passenger Boeing 757 aircraft. American will operate a 251-passenger McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft between Seattle and Tokyo.

October 5, 1991

AA mechanics OK contract

By DON STEWART

Section: NEWS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 1A
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

American Airlines' 27,000 mechanics and ground workers have overwhelmingly approved a two-year contract extension calling for 4 percent wage increases in 1993 and 1994.

Company, union officials and industry analysts said the contract will solidify American's $21 billion growth plan through 1995.

Union officials said they would not reveal the exact vote count until Monday.

Ed Wilson, president of Local 514 of the Transport Workers Union of America, said the proposed contract passed

"overwhelmingly."

"It passed three to one throughout the whole system and by more than that here (in Tulsa)," Wilson said.

"The contract was approved because it is a fair contract and it addresses the problems of our members."

The vote was taken by secret ballot by members who mailed them to their locals during the past week. Ballots were

tallied Friday night by union leaders in eight U.S. cities and Tulsa, where 7,200 mechanics and ground workers are

employed at American's Maintenance ' Engineering Center

at Tulsa International Airport.

In Tulsa, 6,100 members cast ballots, Wilson said.

A 3-to-1 margin in Tulsa would translate to 4,575 votes for approval of the contract. Nationwide, more than 20,000 ballots were cast in favor of the new contract if three

out of four union members approved it.

The contract increases beginning mechanics' salaries to $12.79 from $12.30 an hour, liberalizes vacation benefits and permits workers to advance from the bottom to the top of the salary scale in five and nine years.

Under the existing contract, the top hourly wage for a veteran mechanic is $20.58. The new contract increases that to more than $24.

Coupled with the three-year contract the company signed with the Allied Pilots Association in February, the agreement with the mechanics fixes the company's labor costs with

two of its three unions through the middle of the decade.

American's contract with more than 12,000 members of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants is scheduled to expire in 1992.

In an airline industry which is slumping, solid labor agreements are integral to long-term planning, industry observers say.

Helane Becker, an airline analyst with Shearson Lehman in New York, said the airlines need to avoid protracted and

divisive labor disputes.

Record Number: TUL258944

October 6, 1991

American Mechanics OK Amended Pact, Get 8% Raise

By Mitch Maurer

Section: NEWS
Edition: FINAL HOME EDITION
Page: A9
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

Members of the Transport Workers Union working as American Airlines mechanics have voted to amend their contract with the airline and will get an average 8 percent raise over

the next two years.

The union said Saturday that its 26,000 members approved the plan 3-1.

In addition to the wage increase, The new contract will

give members an average 8 percent wage increase over the

next two years, members will get increased vacation benefits and a reduction in the time it takes to reach top pay scales.

"With the condition the aviation industry is in today, I really think the union leaders had a lot of foresight

to negotiate the contract they did," said Dennis Burchette, a mechanic at American's Tulsa Maintenance and Engineering Center.

"It was a gamble we took," Burchette said. "You have

a 50-50 chance. You look at the economy and try to predict the future."

There was dissension among many of American's 6,500 Tulsa union members before the vote. Several, however, said the proposal was better than not getting anything.

If union members had rejected the contract, American and the TWU wouldn't negotiate again until 1993 when the present contract, which expires in 1995, is amendable.

The pact will raise beginning mechanics' salaries from $12.30 an hour to $12.79. The top pay scale will also increase.

Ed Wilson, president of TWU Local 514 in Tulsa, said union leaders tried to reach an agreement that would benefit the workers and their employer.

American and other major airlines have suffered record financial losses due to a downturn in traffic during the last 18 months.

The new agreement will shorten the time for a mechanic to reach top pay scale from 12 and nine years to five years.

The contract also will cut in half the time it takes TWU members to be eligible for three weeks vacation from 10

to five years. Senior mechanics are eligible for six weeks vacation a year.

"It's a good deal for the new guys," said a 10-year mechanic. "But I voted against it because it doesn't give the older mechanics much."

Record Number: TUL259210

October 19, 1991

Compact Discs Not Just for Music at AA

By Mitch Maurer

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME EDITION
Page: B7
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

American Airlines mechanics are switching to compact discs.

Not the ones that millions of Americans pop in a machine at home to listen to music. These discs contain hundreds

of thousands of pages of information from aircraft records and maintenance manuals.

Official Airlines Guide is transferring the manuals onto

the discs, known in the industry as CD-ROM because they

hold visual information instead of sound. The company has transferred all of the information for American's fleet

of Boeing 767 and 757 aircraft and is working to complete records for the rest of American's fleet.

Sally McElwreath, spokeswoman for Official Airlines Guide, said American will be the first airline to have all of its maintenance records on digitized discs.

"Everyone is going to have to do this," she said. "With this type of a system, a mechanic can get the exact information he needs in a matter of seconds, not minutes or hours."

Like most airlines, American has used microfiche, a miniature film, to store its records. Mechanics often had to reel

through an entire role of film to get to the part of the

records needed. With the new disc, they simply tell the

computer what they need to see and it automatically searches through the 750,000 pages of text stored on a single disc to find the information.

"We see CD-ROM as a major improvement for the mechanic in its ability to provide needed information in an accurate and timely manner," said Ozro F. Redding, American's senior manager of engineering support. "It really pays off as

a labor-saving device."

The airline said the rest of the fleet will be on discs by the end of 1992.

Caption:
American Airlines employee Scott May displays the compact disc the airline's maintenance records are being transferred onto to help Tulsa mechanics search for aircraft information.
PHOTO
Tom Gilbert

Record Number: TUL262765

November 8, 1991

AA parent projects loss

By AP

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 7C
Estimated Printed Pages: 1

Article Text:

FORT WORTH (AP) - Less than halfway through the fourth

quarter, the parent company of American Airlines has projected a loss in the final three months of the year because of

sluggish travel demand.

The announcement Thursday by AMR Corp., which had lost money through the third quarter, signaled a second straight year of losses for the company.

"Traffic is weaker than we would like," AMR chairman Robert Crandall said in a statement, "and we continue to be beset by aberrant pricing polices of several carriers."

Record Number: TUL268008

November 21, 1991

Column: Business pulse

AA fights United on Air Wisconsin

By AP; Graphic, N.Y. Times News Service

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 9B
Estimated Printed Pages: 3

Article Text:

CHICAGO (AP) - American Airlines has sued United Airlines in an effort to block United's proposed acquisition of Air Wisconsin, claiming the deal would violate federal antitrust and securities laws.

United said in a statement that there was "no basis in law or fact" for the lawsuit, which was filed this week

in U.S. District Court in New York.

American has been in discussions with Air Wisconsin since early October but has not announced a competing offer to

acquire the regional carrier, based in Appleton, Wis.

United's parent company, UAL Corp., has proposed acquiring Air Wisconsin's parent, Air Wis Services Inc., for a combination of stock and cash in a deal worth about $70.8 million at

United's current stock price.

Air Wis will consider the proposed merger at its annual shareholders meeting Dec. 30.

Record Number: TUL271455

November 22, 1991

AA to drop flights to Australia

By AP

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL
Page: 9C
Estimated Printed Pages: 1

Article Text:

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - American Airlines said today

it will drop its routes to Australia and New Zealand early next year.

The U.S. carrier, one of the major operators across the Pacific, has declared the routes to Sydney and Auckland

unprofitable in the face of increasing competition and the continuing recession.

Its announcement comes just a month after rival Northwest Airlines won approval to launch non-stop Boeing 747 flights three times a week between Sydney and Los Angeles.

Hans Mirka, American's vice president of international services, attributed the airline's decision partly to the growth in direct service to the U.S. West Coast.

The economic slump in the United States, Australia and New Zealand also contributed to make "this route unprofitable for us" and reduce expectations for the future," Mirka

said in a statement.

American currently flies four days a week between Sydney and its main connecting hub of Dallas-Fort Worth via Honolulu. It began the operations in February 1990.

The airline intends to discontinue the Australian service, and the four-times-weekly Auckland-to-Honolulu service it operates under a code-sharing partnership with Air New Zealand, starting March 2.

It will retain sales offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, enabling a number of employees to be retained locally.

"American cannot fly unprofitable routes indefinitely," Mirka said. "We must deploy our assets where they will

earn an adequate return for our shareholders.

Record Number: TUL271768

November 23, 1991

AA Vacates Australia, New Zealand Routes

By AP

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME EDITION
Page: B8
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

NEW YORK (AP) - Mega-carrier American Airlines, which set the rapid expansion pace for the industry, said Friday it is pulling out of Australia and New Zealand, the carrier's first significant international retreat.

American said it was losing money on those routes, because the airline flew passengers through Honolulu, and many preferred the non-stop service from the West Coast offered by United Airlines and Northwest Airlines.

Abandoning an entire continent seems unusual for the airline more accustomed to adding service, but American insists

it is not a retrenchment and is unrelated to a previously announced capital spending cut of $8 billion.

"Don't confuse this withdrawal from Sydney or the South Pacific with previous announcements by American that it's cutting back on its growth plan," American spokesman John Hotard said from the carrier's headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas.

Still, rivals said the cutback was uncharacteristic of American, the largest U.S. airline.

"This is a rather dramatic move, stopping service to a key market," Delta Air Lines spokesman William Berry said.

American's withdrawal from Australia and New Zealand, effective Feb. 29, could create an opening for Atlanta-based Delta, which tried nearly two years ago to get those routes but

was beat out by American. Delta will evaluate the situation.

Berry and Hotard said they didn't know whether American had tried to sell the route authorities to Delta.

American had flown four times a week from Dallas-Fort Worth to Sydney, Australia, with the stop in Honolulu. In an agreement with Air New Zealand, American also flew four times a week between Honolulu and Auckland.

But it faced tough competition from United and Northwest. Continental Airlines also serves Australia and New Zealand, though not with non-stop flights from the U.S. mainland.

United, the nation's second-largest carrier, flies daily from Los Angeles to Sydney, non-stop, and three times a

week from Los Angeles to Auckland, non-stop. United also

has service connecting through Honolulu and service into

Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia.

Northwest Airlines, the nation's No. 4 carrier, began three non-stop flights from Los Angeles to Sydney last month and hopes to begin serving Brisbane next year.

Continental Airlines serves Sydney and Auckland daily out of Honolulu, with less-frequent service into Brisbane and Melbourne. Spokeswoman Peggy Mahoney declined comment on

whether Continental makes money on the routes.

Record Number: TUL272140

November 26, 1991

AA to Install New Seats on DC-10s

By Mitch Maurer

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME EDITION
Page: B5
Estimated Printed Pages: 1

Article Text:

American Airlines will install new seats in its fleet of

59 McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft at its maintenance center in Tulsa.

The airline is taking delivery of 13,500 seats manufactured in North Carolina by Burns Aerospace Corp.

Officials at Burns said the company has opened a support

center in Tulsa to oversee delivery and installation of

the aircraft seats. The new office will be managed by Tom Caudle, who is transferring from the company's headquarters in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Bud Jewell, president of Burns, said American's order is likely the largest order for commercial passenger seats

ever. Burns, formerly Jepson Burns Corp., started shipping the seats last week.

The seats meet an upgraded Federal Aviation Administration goal to withstand 16 times the force of gravity without

breaking.

Seats on newer aircraft already meet the tougher standards and many seats on older aircraft have been upgraded.

Tim Smith, spokesman for American, said mechanics will replace the seats in the coach section of the DC-10s as the airplanes come in to Tulsa International Airport for routine maintenance. He said it likely will be more than a year before all the seats are replaced.

"This was mainly a case of simply upgrading the seats to more comfortable standards," Smith said. "Also, seats

do wear out."

Burns officials said the company is expanding its line of aircraft interior products and is adding locations around the world to sell and service those parts.

The seats are manufactured in a new process and contain fewer parts. than older aircraft seats.

The American order is more than twice the largest order for seats Burns has filled in the past, Jewell said.

Record Number: TUL272892

November 29, 1991

AA reportedly looks at Trump Shuttle

By NY Times Service c

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 11B
Estimated Printed Pages: 1

Article Text:

NEW YORK - USair is the leading contender to buy the Trump Shuttle but American Airlines has also expressed interest, a person close to Donald J. Trump says.

Trump has been seeking to sell the shuttle since an effort collapsed last September to have Northwest Airlines take

it over and run it.

Since then USAir and American Airlines have been the main contenders to buy the shuttle. For USAir such a purchase

would greatly strengthen its already formidable presence

in New York and Washington, D.C.

Trump bought the shuttle from Eastern Airlines in June 1989, describing it as a jewel of an asset. But it proved to be tougher than he anticipated to win back many of the passengers who had defected to the Pan Am shuttle during the strike

against Eastern Airlines.

Its operating costs of flying old airplanes soared when fuel prices doubled in the Persian Gulf crisis. The shuttle continued to lose money much longer than expected.

Trump paid $365 million for the shuttle. It is unknown what kind of purchase prices are being talked about between Trump's negotiators and USAir.

Record Number: TUL273458

December 5, 1991

Court to auction Pan Am routes
AA has eye on Latin slots

By AP

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 9B
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

NEW YORK (AP) - The death of Pan Am left open a variety

of international routes that will be put on the auction

block in bankruptcy court Sunday.

Pan American World Airways stopped flying Wednesday after fighting to erase years of losses.

That instantly left abandoned more than a dozen international routes, most of them into Latin America.

The Department of Transportation had given the nation's airlines until Wednesday evening to apply for emergency

authority to take over the routes. A department spokesman said some of the routes could be awarded on a temporary

basis as soon as today.

But the routes are to be put up for auction in U.S. Bankrupcty Court in Manhattan in an unusual Sunday session, DOT spokesman Ed O'Hara said today. Any proceeds could end up going to

Pan Am's creditors.

Industry executives said United Airlines seemed to be the most likely candidate to get Pan Am routes into Latin America, including such destinations as Mexico City; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Caracas, Venezuela; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

United had tried to buy the routes last summer and said it had filed on half a dozen.

American Airlines said it asked the Department of Transportation Wednesday for permission to take over many of Pan Am's routes into Latin America. However, the airline has worried it

might run into antitrust problems on flights into the region, where it is now the dominant U.S. carrier.

Northwest Airlines was hoping to get a Detroit-London route for which it has been fighting. That route was part of a

package of Pan Am assets that Delta Air Lines agreed to buy.

But Delta said it had pretty much given up hopes of getting the route, after Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner sharply criticized Delta's abrupt withdrawal of a financing package that had been intended to bring Pan Am out of bankruptcy court.

The move killed Pan Am, although Delta already has gotten the Pan Am Shuttle, which serves New York, Boston and Washington, as well as most of Pan Am's old service across the Atlantic and beyond.

Pan Am's sole remaining trans-Atlantic route was from Miami, Fla., to Paris.

Pan Am, the once-proud pioneer of commercial aviation that built itself into the unofficial U.S. flagship carrier,

had spent the last decade struggling to erase massive losses as leaner competitors were able to better take advantage

of the industry's deregulation in 1978.

Pan Am had hoped to persuade its bankruptcy judge on Tuesday to approve a reorganization plan that would have let it

move from New York to Miami, operating as a smaller carrier that would have been owned 45 percent by Delta and 55 percent by Pan Am creditors.

After Delta pulled out, Pan Am was dead in less than a day, the third casualty of a disastrous year that has also seen the demise of Eastern Airlines and Midway Airlines.

Also, Continental Airlines and America West Airlines, as well as several small carriers, remain in Chapter 11, and TWA has said it will seek bankruptcy court protection early next year.

Pan Am's planes were grounded immediately Wednesday, with the exception of those already en route to their final destinations.

Passengers holding Pan Am tickets were told to check with other airlines, and several were soon honoring Pan Am tickets.

Most of Pan Am's remaining 7,500 workers were told to stay home.

Caption:
Thousands of Pan Am customers were inconvenienced Wednesday after the airline folded. At John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Marcelina Fria, left, Andolia Fria and Rosa Calbonel sit at a Pan Am counter. They had been en route to the Dominican Republic for Christmas but were asked to leave a Pan Am jet after boarding.
PHOTO
AP Laserphoto

Record Number: TUL275057

December 9, 1991

AA refuses offer to add flights

By Tribune staff and wire reports

Section: BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL HOME
Page: 7C
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Article Text:

In the wake of Pan Am's demise, American Airlines has refused to add flights on routes to Brazil and Argentina in an effort to win permanent rights to do so.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge was begin an auction of Pan Am assets, which include an extensive South American route system, today in New York.

Pan American World Airways hopes to raise cash for its creditors by selling more than a dozen route authorities, most of

them to Latin America.

In the meantime, the U.S. Transportation Department had hoped to award temporary route authorities to one or more airlines until permanent service is restored by Pan Am's

successor. Until such service is restored, passengers holding Pan Am tickets for flights during the next month could be stranded.

American already has said the Transportation Department should award the additional flights permanently because

of the high cost of adding service for what might be only a short time.

"We cannot economically reallocate assets and people to serve these routes for only a very brief period because

we are already heavily booked throughout the holiday period," P. Jackson Bell, a senior vice president at American, said Friday.

"We can justify the loss of revenue, disruption to our system and our customers, and the added cost of major, unplanned service change only if were granted the authority to continue operations on a long-term basis," he said.

American, officials say, could quickly add more flights to help passengers stranded by the demise of Pan Am.

The company, industry officials say, is trying to wrest concessions from the Transportation Department.

American has proposed the department grant the company additional route authority to fly from Miami, Fla., to Grand Cayman

in the Cayman Islands; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Sao

Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Mexico City from New York.

American now flies to 21 cities in 16 Latin American countries.

The department is eager to help stranded passengers but balked at American's demand.

The department also awarded United Airlines the right to fly to Brazil and Argentina. Unlike American, which already has a large route network in Latin America, United is a

newcomer and will not be able to begin service until Jan. 15.

Jeffrey N. Shane, an assistant transportation secretary, said the awards had been made in such a way "as to secure replacement service quickly and as close to the service

pattern operated as possible to insure the least disruption possible to the traveling public."

Shane gave authority for American to operate 21 additional weekly flights to Brazil until Jan. 15, when United would begin its service. American's extra flights would then be cut to seven temporary flights.

Shane made a similar determination for Argentina. American was given seven more weekly fights until Jan. 15, when United would begin its service.

Record Number: TUL276155