American Airlines to announce revamp result in weeks

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AMERICAN Airlines will finish its restructuring within weeks to either become a stand-alone carrier or merge with the US Airways, a senior airline official said in Shanghai today.

The US flagship carrier launched restructuring in November 2011 after its parent company, the AMR Corp, went into Chapter 11.

"The airline has managed to stem an annual loss of US$2 billion from employment-related cost and from leases and debts," Derek DeCross, vice president of American Airlines global sales told Shanghai Daily.

The new American Airlines, whether a stand-alone or a merged carrier, will remain the flagship airline of the United States, becoming solid, stronger and more dynamic, DeCross said.

The airline has placed its largest order for 560 planes in coming years and will hire 2,000 more flight attendants, including many who can speak Mandarin, he said.

The airline aims to achieve a 20 percent increase in market share in five years, especially in China and Latin America.

The airline currently flies from Los Angeles to Shanghai and from Chicago to Beijing and Shanghai. DeCross said the airline could open more routes from other US cities to Shanghai, Beijing and secondary cities in China.

The company has code-sharing agreements with the Hainan Airlines and the Cathy Pacific.

US Airways has said that a merger with AMR would generate at least US$1.2 billion a year in new revenue beyond the benefit that could be passed to employees of the combined carrier.

Meanwhile, AMR has said its stand-alone plan would generate US$3 billion in new revenue and savings by 2017, according to previous reports.

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