DALLAS (Reuters) - The union representing pilots at American Airlines said on Tuesday its board would likely vote by the end of this month on a wage-concession deal the union was hammering out with management at the struggling carrier. þþþÿWe expect that our board will likely vote on a proposed package of changes to the collective bargaining agreement by the end of this month,ÿ said Gregg Overman, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association. The union represents about 13,500 pilots at American, a division of AMR Corp. þþþThe union's board of directors has been meeting for several days in the Dallas area. The union has said it was working to strike a deal that would help the airline avoid bankruptcy, and its rank and file would have final say on any agreement. þþOverman said slumping demand for commercial air travel during the war in Iraq had added more financial pain to the company, which lost an airline industry record $3.5 billion last year. He would not comment on any specifics of proposals. þþAMR has said it needed to cut structural costs by about $4 billion a year to keep flying. It is in talks with all three of its major unions over a call it made last month for $1.8 billion in annual wage concessions. þþþAmerican spokesman Bruce Hicks said the airline had been working hard with all its unions on wage-concession deals. þþþÿEveryone recognizes that time is of the essence and we are working around the table, around the clock,ÿ Hicks said. þþþÿThe active engagement process of these past weeks continues to bring us closer to the preferred outcome of consensual agreements. While we are optimistic, much hard work and tough decisions remain,ÿ he said. þþþSACRIFICES þþþA spokesman for the union that represents flight attendants at American said no timetable had been set in its talks, adding it was still in deep negotiations with the airline. þþþOfficials with the third major union, which represents American's mechanics and ground personnel, were not immediately available for comment. þþþAMR Chief Executive Don Carty told American workers in Tulsa, Oklahoma that concessions worked out at this point might not become permanent cuts. þþþÿThere will be sacrifices for some period of time. We are already in discussions with the unions about years two, three, four and five,ÿ Carty said. þþþCarty said that if the cost-cutting plan were fully implemented, the airline would first try to pay off its debt and then it could see a profit by mid-year in 2004. þþþThe International Transport Association said the war in Iraq could cost the world's airlines $10 billion. þþþThe leader of the U.S. Senate predicted on Tuesday that Congress would grant aid to ailing U.S. airlines, sparking a rally in stocks of the carriers weighed down by a travel slump due to the war in Iraq. þþþRemarks by new Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist were the first concrete indication that aid might emerge from Washington as airlines' unprecedented financial distress is worsened by the Middle East conflict.þ
Source: Reuters
