Bob McCarty Writes

In a news release today, AMR Corporation announced significant reductions to its the 2008 domestic flight schedule of its subsidiary, American Airlines, Inc.

Those reductions include a fourth-quarter mainline domestic capacity reduction of 11 percent to 12 percent from the previous year. It also includes retirement of at least 75 mainline and regional aircraft and several other revenue growth initiatives as the company responds to record fuel prices, growing concerns about the economy and a difficult competitive environment.

AMR’s announcement comes on the same day American introduced a $15 fee for the first checked bag, a move intended to combat “increasing costs of transporting checked baggage.” The fee becomes effective for tickets purchased on or after June 15, but does not apply to certain passengers and on flights to certain destinations.

The understatement of the year came from AMR Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey, who said the following:

“Clearly, we have a lot of hard work ahead of us given the economic realities we face. But we have battled through many challenges throughout our long history, and, with the continued dedication of our leadership team and our people, I believe we have the fortitude to continue to do so.”

Cartoon courtesy Political Graffiti

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