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A flamenco dancer shimmied =
and=20
snapped her fingers for the large crowd of local and state politicians,=20
employees, and reporters who converged on Dallas/Fort Worth =
International=20
Airport on May 1 to celebrate American Airlines' new nonstop service to =
Madrid.=20
Servers handed out glasses of wine, and people stood in line for fancy=20
appetizers.=20
The mood was festive despite a deep recession that has businesses = slashing=20 their travel costs, families postponing vacations, and the airline = industry=20 reeling from revenue losses.
![3Dfeat_1=20](3D"http://www.fwweekly.com/images/stories/images/6-3-2009/feat_1.jpg"= "3D\"D/FW=E2=80=99s")
Daniel P. Garton, executive vice president of =
marketing at=20
the Fort Worth-based airline, was preparing to speak to a large crowd =
that=20
included Texas First Lady Anita Perry, U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, =
and Fort=20
Worth City Council member Kathleen Hicks. But he took a few moments to =
speak=20
with Fort Worth Weekly on the industry's recent woes, from the=20
struggles to pay for fuel in 2008 when oil was selling at a record $147 =
a barrel=20
to staying afloat in 2009 with financial markets drying up.
"You feel like it's out of the frying pan and into the fire," he = said.
It's one of several metaphors getting tossed around to describe the = company's=20 financial climate these days.
" 'Perfect storm' is a phrase that gets used way too much, but if you = look at=20 American ... ," company financial spokesman Andrew Backover said = recently,=20 before he launched into a description of the airline's rocky status.
In the airline industry, "Everybody has a cold; American Airlines may = have a=20 touch of pneumonia in a couple of areas," analyst and consultant Bob = Mann, of=20 R.W. Mann & Co., said.
Losing this patient would be particularly painful around these parts. = American is the primary carrier at D/FW Airport, which in turn is a = vital spark=20 plug for the North Texas economy.
"There is no question that American Airlines is one of the biggest = employers=20 in the D/FW area and accounts for about 80 percent of all the air = passenger=20 traffic at D/FW Airport," said Bernard Weinstein, director of the Center = for=20 Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas. "If = they=20 were to somehow disappear, that would have a devastating impact."
The tragedy of 9/11 spurred an industry landslide. = Every=20 major airport in the country was shut down for several days. Congress, = federal=20 agencies, and airline officials frantically tried to boost security, but = even=20 after the airports were open again, people were scared to fly for a = while. An=20 estimated 100,000 workers at the country's major airlines were laid = off.
Shortly after that, fuel prices began escalating. = The=20 industry lost untold billions of dollars in revenue, and airlines began = flying=20 into bankruptcy courts. Many employees saw their pay slashed and hours=20 increased.
American Airlines is among the world's largest carriers, employing = more than=20 80,000 people worldwide, including about 25,000 locally. By 2003, = however, it=20 too was teetering. The company staved off bankruptcy, saved many of its = jobs,=20 and struggled onward.
Lately things have been bad enough that news reports about an = American=20 Airlines pilot who flunked a breath test prior to working a flight from = London=20 to Chicago registered as only a small blip on the = radar.
Parent company AMR Corp. lost $375 million in the first quarter of = 2009 - up=20 from $341 million during the same period in 2008.
Employees are picketing and grumbling about exorbitant salaries paid =
to=20
executives. The airline has had a contentious relationship with its =
workers ever=20
since former chairman Robert Crandall began his autocratic rule in the =
1980s.=20
But now, for the first time in American's history, all three of its =
labor groups=20
- pilots, flight attendants, and transport workers unions - are in =
mediation at=20
th![3Dfeat_2=20](3D"http://www.fwweekly.com/images/stories/images/6-3-2009/feat_2.jpg"= "3D'Latham:")
e same time.
The company's fleet of airplanes is aging and dominated by = gas-guzzling=20 MD-80s. Reports of maintenance lapses resulted in the entire fleet of = MD-80s=20 being temporarily grounded amid increased scrutiny from federal = inspectors last=20 year. The airline and the Federal Aviation Administration appear to be = in a=20 pissing match that could have serious consequences.
Former flight attendant Alicia Lutz- Rolow arrived in Fort Worth last = year to=20 receive an award from American but instead took the podium to accuse = company=20 executives of greed and corruption. Her comments later aired on MSNBC. = Now she=20 has published The Plane Truth, a scathing attack on the company = and its=20 management.
Meanwhile, a share of the company's stock is selling for less than a = six-pack=20 of Bud Light. The same share would have sold for $40 several years = ago.
But this ain't the company's first rodeo, or perfect storm, or frying = pan, or=20 case of pneumonia. While the auto industry and others have been begging = for=20 federal bailouts, American has tended to business, made adjustments, and = appears=20 to be maneuvering itself to weather the economic squalls.
A recent stroll through hallways at American Airlines headquarters = revealed a=20 slight darkness - literally. Long rows of light fixtures designed to = hold three=20 fluorescent bulbs had been stripped of their middle bulbs. Hundreds of = bulbs=20 throughout the building were removed almost two years = ago.
"I noticed the difference in the lighting the first day," company = spokesman=20 Tim Wagner said. "Since then I don't even notice it."
Worn-out carpet was replaced with carpeting made of recycled = material,=20 automated paper towels systems were installed in bathrooms to discourage = waste,=20 and moisture-monitoring systems were added so the lawn isn't = over-watered.
Even the small lightbulbs in the candy machines have been = removed.
"Being more efficient is good for us and good for the environment," = Wagner=20 said.
American Airlines initiated the efficiency programs to help the = company=20 bottom line by squeezing out some savings, then set about last summer = squeezing=20 some extra income from passengers. Extra charges for checked baggage = angered=20 many travelers but helped the airline keep afloat at a time when the = company was=20 reeling from record-high fuel prices.
With the airline tightening its belt, company officials expect = workers to do=20 the same. Employees, however, see things differently. They say their = belts are=20 already so tight they can barely breathe. Labor groups gave up pay and = benefits=20 in 2003 to help save the company from bankruptcy. Now = pilots,=20 flight attendants, and transport workers - the three main labor unions - = are=20 seeking repayment for their loyalty.
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3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / = Copyright (C)=20 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights=20 reserved."
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