Hi East West, further bulletin, this from Wall Street Journal:
"Troubled national carrier, Aerolineas Argentinas, plans to maintain scheduled flights, despite filing for bankruptcy protection last week, union leaders said Monday.
Union leaders made the statement after all seven of the airline's guilds met Monday to discuss Aerolineas' current situation.
Earlier news reports said the company might cancel flights once more because the company didn't feel adequate "security conditions existed."
However, Edgardo Llano, number two at the Aeronautic Personnel Association union, said the company denied these rumors and assured union leaders the company would keep flying.
The flagship airline, struggling under $1.2 billion in debt and set to lose $600 million this year, filed for bankruptcy protection last Thursday after it failed to resolve long-running disputes with labor unions over a restructuring plan.
Union leaders charged that the talk of suspending flights was in response to the meeting bringing together all seven unions.
"This is another one of the strategies that [Spain's State Industrial Holdings Co.] SEPI is trying and is in response to the meeting Monday of the seven unions," Ricardo Cirielli, head of the Aeronautic Technical Personnel Association, said.
The unions' united front is a change from the earlier bickering among each other after two unions refused to sign on to an earlier plan designed to save the company.
The unions were angered by a plan put forward by SEPI that called for pay cuts and a hiring freeze to save Aerolineas, which is struggling under nearly $1 billion in debt and losing $20 million to $30 million a month.
SEPI, which controls 90% of Aerolineas, had refused to put fresh funds into the struggling company unless all seven unions agreed to their plan of salary cuts and hiring freezes.
Earlier this month, Argentine President Fernando de la Rua dispatched a deputy to Madrid after Aerolineas suspended flights outside Latin America, saying it couldn't afford to buy fuel. Argentina's labor minister had called on Spain to cover the company's debts so it can be sold to a third party.
Another Argentine cabinet member threatened to auction off the seven international routes that Aerolineas suspended in early June, including New York and Miami, if the airline doesn't reinstate them.
Neither the Spanish nor Argentine government wants to put more money into Aerolineas. However, there is significant political pressure in Argentina to keep the airline flying.
Airline unions say corporate mismanagement rather than wages or employee headcount are at the root of the airline's troubles. "Even if we all worked for free the company would lose money," said Gabriel Mocho Rodriguez, spokesman for the national crewmembers' union.
Since early May the airline has been essentially paralyzed by the labor disputes. Aerolineas is flying at only 20% to 30% of capacity after suspending almost all international flights and six domestic flights.
The government privatized Aerolineas Argentinas in 1991 with SEPI becoming the primary shareholder with more than 90% of the shares. Argentina retained a 5% stake in the company and during the past 10 years has intervened at various times in labor disputes between the companies' unions and SEPI.
Neither the Spanish nor Argentine government wants to put more money into Aerolineas. However, there is significant political pressure in Argentina to keep the airline flying.
Union leaders favor the renationalization of the airline and are opposed to Aerolineas's sale to another company. However, government officials strongly criticize talk of returning the airline to state ownership.
However, Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo, speaking at the Argentine Bank Association conference, reiterated Monday that the government didn't have the funds to do so.
On June 20, Peruvian air carrier Grupo Aero Continente made an offer to buy all outstanding shares of Aerolineas but analysts said this might be more of a publicity stunt than a serious offer.
Airline-industry analysts have also mentioned LAN Chile as a potential buyer."