Flown it. Most of the legacy carriers have a portion of their pension fund set up so that the employee can elect to take a 'lump-sum' provision. It reduces the subsequent monthly amount that they also get after retirement. Once the carrier has entered Ch11, the lump-sum payout is history. If I was in AA or CO, I would take the lump-sum NOW, and worry about the rest later. At least that way they have recouped some of their long-term investment in their pension. I think it is criminal how US companies are allowed to continue to keep operating for years without funding their pension plans, and even more criminal that the amount they do fund can be held by the Airlines themselves. You couldn't make this stuff up...!! I think we are about to see the greatest melt-down in the retirement welfare of middle-class America in history. It is becoming quite apparant that for decades corporate management in America has had an unwritten 'compact' with the Government to line each others pockets. The supposed welfare of the employees is now being discarded brutally and cynically. I predict much social unrest in the US in coming years. If you think the Airline situation is dire...wait until the autoworkers and GM/Ford face off over these same issues...! Although I think Europe has a lot wrong with it too, you couldn't concieve of this sort of thing happening here.....could it!
..another thought: I think some sort of regulation of aviation is necessary. As an airline grows, the cost of it\'s loyal workforce grow, as do it\'s infrastructure costs. It seems unfair that a new airline can come into the market place, with NO legacy costs (pensions, medical etc) and deliberatly undercut the legacy carriers for however long it takes to put them out of business. As an example, Southwests costs are now amongst the highest in the US, and they don\'t have a pension or onerous medical benefits system. They do however have \'high\' crew costs. A new entrant should not be able to sell tickets below an established \'cost\' basis. As it is now, they can get enough capital in place, then \'bleed\' the competition until they fail. I don\'t have all the answers (probably not any for that matter), but surely the present ridiculous system in the US has been proven to be a failure...certainly for the average employee.