American Airlines employees find out this week how the airlines’ bankruptcy will affect them. KERA’s BJ Austin says airline executives meet with union leaders on Wednesday.
American Airlines employees have waited a couple of months for news about their futures as a result of the airline’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Holly Hegeman is an airline analyst and founder of PlaneBusiness.com.
Hegeman: And it’s not going to be good news. There’s no question the pension plans will not survive in their current state.
There will likely be demands for pilots and flight attendants to work more hours each month. And outsourcing of ground crew jobs is likely on the table.
Holly Hegeman says one of American’s three maintenance bases will have to close. They are in Tulsa, at DFW Airport and at Alliance Airport.
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings are bracing for a hit to the North Texas economy with the anticipated layoffs.
Price: We’re always worried about people and their jobs and their ability to feed their families and keep their houses.
Rawlings: We gonna each try to focus on making sure we get jobs to those people. But those are specialized jobs.
Both say after the stressful process, American will emerge stronger. Analyst Hegeman says she doubts American will emerge as a stand-alone carrier. She says it’s the last major airline not to consolidate.
