Reuters: U.S.: American Airlines, flight attendants fail to cut costs

Reuters: U.S. Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

American Airlines, flight attendants fail to cut costs Jun 2nd 2012, 16:38 Sat Jun 2, 2012 12:38pm EDT (Reuters) - American Airlines failed to agree on cost-cutting measures with its flight attendants' union, setting the stage for a judge to rule on voiding the contract for the bankrupt carrier, a subsidiary of AMR Corp, the union said in a statement late on Friday. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, citing a need to cut labor costs, while its flight attendant and pilot unions have pushed for a merger with rival carrier US Airways Corp to reduce expenses. Talks between American Airlines and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants ended without reaching a deal after two days of meetings, union spokeswoman Leslie Mayo said in the statement. "Today, mediated talks between AA and APFA broke off in New York without a deal. APFA is disappointed, but not surprised," Mayo said. The pilots union will meet with the airline in another round of mediated sessions beginning on Monday, Mayo said. A U.S. bankruptcy judge can rule as early as June 22 on whether the airline can void the contracts with the unions, Mayo said. An American Airlines spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday. The airline has said it needs $1.25 billion in annual labor concessions. The lead negotiator for AMR Corp's pilot union last month testified that a merger between American and US Airways could save $130 million per year in cuts to the airline pilots' union. "I firmly believe a merger is the right move for this company," APFA President Laura Glading said in Friday's statement. "Our airline needs a network that can grow and compete with United and Delta. A strong company will provide more job security than even the best agreement American can offer as a standalone." (Reporting by Michael Hirtzer in Chicago; Editing by Sandra Maler) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions