Now the real work will begin. Because AMR avoided Chapter 11 for so long, when it finally did file it did so with "fewer scheduled passengers carried and a smaller fleet than either the Delta-Northwest and United-Continental restructured and consolidated carriers or Southwest," the unsecured creditors' committee wrote in court filings. In its own court documents, AMR notes that it has the highest operating costs
( overall costs, not M&R) today, compared with United, Delta and US Airways, and Derchin says union labor costs alone put AMR at an $800 million-a-year disadvantage to its rivals, meaning management must reduce labor costs, wages and pension obligations while increasing productivity.
From 2000 to 2010, AMR suffered almost $11.5 billion in net losses -- it made profits only in 2000, 2006 and 2007 -- because it had to keep prices competitive even while its costs were so much higher than rivals.
But not everyone is convinced. One source says that AMR likes to blame its problems on its labor costs, but what it doesn't publicize is that it does more maintenance on its planes in-house than other airlines, artificially inflating those expenses and keeping its vendor costs lower than its competitors.
(just like the TWU outsourcing percentage)
did the TWU investigate why the company paid down their long term debt in the billions right before filing for BK to make their cash position look worse than it was........
Read more:
AMR and the return of the bare-knuckled bankruptcy - The Deal Pipeline (SAMPLE CONTENT: NEED AN ID?) http://www.thedeal.com/content/restructuring/amr-and-the-return-of-the-bare-knuckled-bankruptcy.php#ixzz32ZA25onO
