I'm not blaming the employees for the red ink, I'm blaming AA employees, their unions and their management for my furlough. There is no rebutting that, I'm out of work with 7 years service while new-hire, just-off probation AA new-hire pilots who were'nt even HIRED when AA announced they would buy TWA, keep their job.
But, since you brought it up, AA F/As and mechanics have industry-leading contracts, and the pilots have been negotiating for one. Labor costs number about 40% of AA's overall costs, and while other carriers not in bankruptcy (NWA,DL,CO) are taking pay cuts AND furloughing, AA is doing NEITHER. Only ex-TWA employees ave been getting laid-off and so far NO pay reductions at AA have occured. The airline will most certainly end up in bankruptcy court because, in part, the unions refuse to help the company save money by taking pay cuts---which are most CERTAINLY necessary to avoid bankruptcy. This is new ground for AA and its employees, because they've been running an inefficient, unproductive and obviously money-losing operation without understanding that temporary pay reductions are necessary to stem the tide of red ink. No worry; when AA goes bankrupt, the judge and management will dictate much larger cuts than they would have taken otherwise---most likely 30%. Plus, there will be more furloughs if Ch.11 comes than not. Thanks to the stumbling and bumbling of AA 'unions', more of their employees will lose their jobs in the end.
If it was'nt for the TWA purchase, AA would have furloughed 2000 pilots and 5000 F/As. But try and tell them that; they think the world owes them a living and that they're somehow 'entitled' to their jobs. When the bankruptcy court and creditors' committee finishes gutting their contract and reducing their numbers, their perspective will change. It might even resemble what ex-TWA employees have been dealing with for 2 years.