American Airlines arrived on time just over 63% of the time in the first quarter of 2008, worst amongst competing carriers, 15 percentage points below industry leader USAirways.
American Airlines cancelled 4.49% of flights in the first quarter of 2008, over twice the comparator average and four times as many flights as the industry leader Airtran.
The top five executives at American Airlines just received a 250% increase in their bonus program while the criteria to trigger the bonus program was lowered substantially.
American Airlines is suffering a severe pilot shortage despite the change in mandatory retirement age. American is attempting to entice pilots to cancel 2008 vacations in an effort to properly staff the airline.
Amercian Airlines finished 18th out of 20 in the most recent Zagat survey ranking U.S. based carriers. (Source: Zagat's Guide)
AMR CEO Gerard Arpey made over $10 million in 2006, eight times more than Southwest CEO Gary Kelly.
Approximately 90% of US professional airline pilots currently on furlough are American Airlines Pilots. (Source: FLTops.com)
American Airlines has the lowest cost per seat mile amongst the legacy carriers, below that at key competitors like Continental, Delta, United, Northwest, and USAirways. (Source: DOT Form 41 Data 2007 YTD statistics)
AMR managers received over $260 million in bonuses between April 2006 and April 2007. If divided amongst the pilots this would equal an approximate average pay raise of 11% per year over those two years.
Current American Airlines pilot hourly pay rates are approximately equal to 1992 pay rates. (Source: APA Contract Archive)
AMR management compensation has increased over 900% since 2003. (Source:SEC Filings, APA Internal Analysis)
American Airlines flew 4.2% fewer block hours in 2006 than in 2000 with 30% fewer pilots. American pilots fly over 20% more now than they did 6 years ago. (Source: APA Internal Analysis)
American Airlines pilots received less than one hundred dollars each (after taxes) in performance bonuses during the 2006-2007 period.
American pilots spend 15% more time away from home than they did in 2001. (Source: APA Internal Analysis)
American Airlines International reserve pilots are required to be on call to the company for 19 days per month, 24 hours a day. (Source: APA/AMR Collective Bargaining Agreement)
American Airlines pilots produced 9.2% more domestic revenue passenger miles per pilot and $600,000 more in revenue per pilot than Southwest pilots in 2006, according to Department of Transportation Statistics. (Source: DOT form 41 statistics)
American Airlines has finished an average of 8th out of 11 industry competitors in Survey America comparisons over the last four years. Pilot performance bonuses are heavily based on these statistics - management bonuses are not. (Source: Survey America, SEC filings)
American Airlines currently holds approximately $5 Billion in unrestricted cash and has one of the strongest balance sheets in the airline industry.
American Airlines pilots must requalify every nine months by completing an extensive series of emergency scenarios in advanced aircraft simulators. Failure to do so results in termination.
Airline Captains, and those First Officers who have Pilot-in-Command responsibility, must requalify medically every six months. Failure to meet stringent standards means removal from flight status.
Only a small number of airports have the facilities that allow an airliner to "land itself" using the autopilot. The vast majority of poor weather approaches are completed by pilots "hand-flying."
Pilots avoid thunderstorms and other hazardous weather themselves through the use of airborne weather radar. Correct radar technique takes years of experience to perfect. The energy in a typical summer thunderstorm is more than sufficient to severely damage or destroy an airliner.
The average AA pilot has over ten years of specialized education, including military, corporate, and/or airline flying experience, prior to being hired at American.