American Airlines falters
SHARES of American Airlines parent AMR Corp plunged as much as 41 per cent yesterday on growing fears the third-largest US airline is headed for bankruptcy, although the carrier said Chapter 11 is “not our goal”.
The stock’s decline to its lowest price since 2003 outpaced the share losses of rivals, who also suffered on fears economic weakness could hit travel demand. AMR had a second-quarter net loss of $286m (£185m), while rivals showed profits.
AMR spokesman Andrew Backover declined to say whether AMR was considering Chapter 11 protection.
“Regarding rumours and speculation about a court-supervised restructuring, that is certainly not our goal or our preference,” he said. “We know we need to improve our results, and we are keenly focused as we work to achieve that.”
Shares closed down 27.7 per cent at $1.98 in New York.