American Airlines Jet Net

A decade after 9/11, American Airlines still struggles to turn profit

What it has not done, however, is make money.

In the 10 years ended Dec. 31, 2010, American's parent company, AMR Corp., lost $11.5 billion. Its last profitable year was 2007. It has lost money in nine of the past 10 quarters, eight of the past 10 years.

For much of the past decade, many of its major rivals also lost money. But when almost every other U.S. airline made money in 2010, AMR still posted a large loss.

AMR is projected to lose money in 2011 and 2012, while its major U.S. competitors are projected to make money.

For a publicly traded company, that's not a good thing. Top company executives say they're confident they have a plan to turn the company around but that it will take time.

Simply put, AMR believes that beefing up service at five major U.S. cities and partnering with international carriers will pay off in stronger revenues. It also thinks its current cost disadvantage will disappear over time as other carriers sign new contracts with their labor unions.

"I believe with the strategy we have in place, we'll be fully competitive," said AMR and American Chairman and Chief Executive Gerard Arpey.

"Near term, obviously, we have challenges. We have a cost disadvantage. Everybody knows why we have it and how it came to be," said Tom Horton, president of American and AMR.

"And we have very high oil prices right now. I think if oil prices hadn't done what they've done, many might be talking about the recovery of American Airlines rather than the challenges we face."

But industry analysts have questioned AMR's strategy and its explanation that its plans will close the gap with other airlines - with the chorus growing louder in recent months.

"Waiting for the other airlines to sign generous labor contracts does not fix AMR," Avondale Partners analyst Bob McAdoo said in a May 16 report. "Hoping your competitor will take a particular action is not a strategy."

"In my opinion, the franchise is still strong; it's still savable," senior aerospace specialist Ray Neidl of the Maxim Group said. "But pretty quickly they're going to have to come up with new ideas, either this management or new management, on what to do with the company.

American Airlines App Available From Today - iPhone Forum

If you're just about to jet off somewhere on American Airlines, you might be interested to hear that the company has released its first iPhone/iPod touch/iPad app today. The free app offers customers a new way to stay connected with the airline while they're travelling, with an intelligent data display that enables American to provide the most relevant day-of-travel information, meaning that the app knows and displays who you are and where you're going (although you probably don't need an app to tell you who you are!), and perhaps more usefully, where you're departing from, including what gate, and where you'll be sitting on the plane, as well as your position on the standby list, if that applies to you. The app has been designed so that you only need to enter your login and password details once, after which it will push upcoming flight details automatically to the home screen. Other features include the ability to set a parking reminder, elite status progress tracking, instant access to your Mobile Boarding Pass, a facility to use GPS to locate the nearest airport to you that's served by American, terminal maps, and a Sudoku game! You can also use the app to book and check in for flights, check flight status and schedules and access your AAdvantage accounts information.

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