PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
It's been a slow and steady competitive decline for American Airlines parent AMR Corp, resulting in the number three U.S. air carrier filing for bankruptcy on Tuesday.
American Airlines was in a tough spot compared to its rivals, which all restructured their labor contracts through bankruptcy over the past decade; that left American Airlines with the highest labor costs in the industry.
In its filing the company said "Without addressing the realities of the marketplace, AMR cannot be competitive with its peers."
Incoming Chairman and CEO Thomas Horton:
SOUNDBITE: THOMAS HORTON, INCOMING CHAIRMAN AND CEO, AMR CORP. (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"The path ahead will be hard but it is a well worn path and we will make the company successful. We have great assets and we have great people. We have hubs in the most important markets in North America. We have the best partners around the world, in the best markets around the world."
Besides the inability to reach a deal with its pilots, the air carrier says it was also saddled by higher jet fuel prices.
And American Airlines was also left out of a recent wave of mergers that knocked it down from the top spot.
But like all carriers, American Airlines is also trying to cope with slowing revenues due to the sluggish economic recovery.
AMR says planes will continue to fly throughout the bankruptcy process.
Conway Gittens, Reuters
It's been a slow and steady competitive decline for American Airlines parent AMR Corp, resulting in the number three U.S. air carrier filing for bankruptcy on Tuesday.
American Airlines was in a tough spot compared to its rivals, which all restructured their labor contracts through bankruptcy over the past decade; that left American Airlines with the highest labor costs in the industry.
In its filing the company said "Without addressing the realities of the marketplace, AMR cannot be competitive with its peers."
Incoming Chairman and CEO Thomas Horton:
SOUNDBITE: THOMAS HORTON, INCOMING CHAIRMAN AND CEO, AMR CORP. (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"The path ahead will be hard but it is a well worn path and we will make the company successful. We have great assets and we have great people. We have hubs in the most important markets in North America. We have the best partners around the world, in the best markets around the world."
Besides the inability to reach a deal with its pilots, the air carrier says it was also saddled by higher jet fuel prices.
And American Airlines was also left out of a recent wave of mergers that knocked it down from the top spot.
But like all carriers, American Airlines is also trying to cope with slowing revenues due to the sluggish economic recovery.
AMR says planes will continue to fly throughout the bankruptcy process.
Conway Gittens, Reuters
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