I have some experience with American. When I started there in the beginning of 1979, they operated an all jet (3 pilots), mostly US domestic operation with a small dedicated freighter operation. They had about 280 some aircraft. 30 years and 2 furloughs later, when I retired early (I thought they were going to file Chapter 11 in late 2008) they were operating near 800 or so 2 pilot jets almost all over the globe.
The union was offered several times when Robert Crandall was President and CEO of AMR for the pilots to take over ownership or partial ownership of the company, but each time the pilot union declined the offer. Yet the union continuously broadcast and shouted from the rooftops how evil and inept management was, how the evil managers were trying to destroy the earning power of pilots and oh how the union wished they had a CEO who wanted to run an airline, blah blah blah.
Curiously, over the years, many of the upper level union officers would, upon leaving union service go right over to the Flight Academy and take high level management positions. Amazing when most of the higher level flight ops jobs require approval from corporate headquarters. I still wonder about that.
Anyhow, as has been mentioned in the thread, the plight of recently retired pilots who face the possible loss of one part of their retirement funds. That would be the defined benefit or "A"plan, which is now (NOV29 Chapt11) no longer available as a lump sum, but as an annuity.
Who knows what will happen to the A fund in bankruptcy. The pilot B fund, however is rock solid and safe, still available for lump sum distribution. The company will I believe contribute to the "B" fund during the bankruptcy process. The "B" fund is 11% of pilot pay each year; the A plan, 4%.
Two types of dates have been mentioned. Pilot retirement date and Retirement Benefit Commencement date; and at least for early retirement they are NOT the same.
For example, in my case when I retired early at the end of August 2008, my retirement date was 01SEP2008, but my retirement benefit commencement date 2 months later, 01NOV2008.
In normal retirement (age 60 or 65) I believe the retirement date and the benefit commencement date coincide.
Bottom line, I truly hope the guys who early bailed in October still get their lump sums from the A fund when their benefit commencement date arrived/arrives sometime this month.
I think (but do not know) that any pilot who retired EARLY within the months of October or November and would have a Commencement date of Dec 01 or Jan01 is not going to get a lump sum from the A fund.