IIRC the BK laws affected were for chapters 7 and 13 - personal filers. The credit card lobby wanted to make it harder to file 7 (clean slate) vs 13 (partial repayment).

 

I'm telling you what guys, the APA needs a better PR firm, the pilots are getting hammered out there (highest paid, unwilling to negotiate, blah blah blah)...

 

I thought that changes in current U.S. bankruptcy laws required companies to negotiate labor contracts before filing. Sure I'm missing something there.

 

Think of this bankruptcy this way. The microwave oven burned someone's lunch at the accounting office's break room setting off the sprinklers and the fire alarms. Other than the accountants who are running around in a haze, the rest of the Company is operating normally and just talking about the "news."

Gerald Arpey's retirement is secure. Usually the rats know more about the integrity of the ship's hull than the rest of the crew working above deck.

 

We'll see what kind of backing the labor groups will get from our "left-wing" president.

 

Now that AA has dropped a bunch of debt like the other airlines have done, the next likely step seems to be more consolidation. This article was published in late October 2011. Plus US Air stock has jumped up 10% this morning.

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American-US Air Merger Would Bolster The Industry - Seeking Alpha

Post-bankruptcy, AMR's new, less leveraged capital structure could better handle higher capex and new aircraft. Throw in a merger with U.S. Airways, and it's a win/win/win scenario -- for the two airlines, labor, as well as the industry and its capital providers.

Of course, what looks good on paper may be impossible to implement because of various pockets of resistance, especially from labor. The devil is in the details, and I'm simply making the case that from a strategic fit perspective, the merger scenario makes the most sense. It meets the various tests of consistency for all stakeholders. Moreover, it improves the industry’s ability to absorb the massive new costs that are likely imposed upon it by a government that must reduce an unsustainable federal deficit.

AMR management will obviously want to remain in control in any merger scenario. This may not be the best outcome. Many, at least on Wall Street, believe that the best candidate to run the combined company would be US Airways’ Doug Parker. He is a realist who has nothing invested in maintaining American's self-image that it is the leading airline in the industry. This was once correct, but is no longer so, with the industry's competitive evolution. In my view, Parker would manage American for an optimal outcome for all stakeholders, not attempt to achieve a standing that is no longer achievable.

 

It was inevitable. Arpey going away is a start.

 

AA pilots and the APA are getting hammered. I'm sure that is a win for every management group out there today.

High fives left and right in ATL, ORD, DAL, PHX and so on.

 

Is this the Dougie you refer to, I would expect this Doug to rear his ugly head:
United Airlines Negotiations : P. Douglas McKeen

Mr slash and burn himself!

 

well crandall just threw us under the bus. the good thing is that the rest of the employees know the devil they are dealing with