American Airlines Loses Millions in 3rd Quarter

By Bill Zeeble, KERA News

Dallas, TX –

AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, says the carrier lost 360 million dollars in the 3rd quarter despite lower fuel prices. KERA's Bill Zeeble has more.

American's CEO Gerard Arpey says the difficult revenue environment driven by the weakened global economy overwhelmed any 3rd quarter savings from reduced oil prices. Revenues were down 20 percent over last year.

Items that used to be free, like additional bags and on board food, now carry a charge and brought in a tiny bit of extra revenue - 1.4 percent in American's case.

Arpey says the company worked on positioning itself for the future, after the economy bounces back. It has cut some of its routes and planes, and beefed up operations in key markets, including Dallas and Fort Worth.

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