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AMR reports fourth-quarter loss of $734 million

AMR<.> Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines<.>, Inc., reported a fourth-quarter net loss of…

AMR<.> Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines<.>, Inc., reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $734 million before special items, or a loss of $4.75 per share. This compares with net earnings of $56 million, or $0.34 per share diluted, before special items in the fourth quarter of 2000.



Influenced by the lingering effects of last September`s attacks, the final three months of 2001 were incredibly difficult, said Don Carty, AMR`s chairman and chief executive officer. Traffic, particularly business travel, was down significantly in the quarter, which — when combined with lower average fares — resulted in a record quarterly loss.



While disappointed with the results, the Company has taken many positive steps to bolster its financial position. We strengthened our cash reserves, despite the huge losses, Carty said, and further improved our position by cutting capacity, reducing capital spending, cutting operating costs, and further simplifying the fleet.



In addition, Carty noted that, The commitment of our people to making American an industry leader was evident in December, when American registered an industry-leading completion factor of 99.7 percent and posted outstanding on-time performance.



After accounting for the special items noted below, AMR reported a net loss of $798 million, or $5.17 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2001. This compares to net earnings of $47 million, or $0.29 per share diluted, for the fourth quarter of 2000.



AMR`s fourth-quarter results brought the Company`s full-year 2001 net loss to $1.4 billion, or $9.13 per share, before special items. This compares with 2000 net earnings of $752 million, or $4.65 per share diluted, before special items and an extraordinary loss. Including the special items noted above and prior quarters` special items, AMR`s full-year 2001 net loss was $1.8 billion, or a loss of $11.43 per share, as compared to 2000 net earnings of $770 million, or $4.76 per share diluted.



Looking to the future, Carty said AMR still has a long way to go to return to profitability, but is encouraged by a number of signs.



Traffic is improving, and we`re in much better shape than we might have been otherwise, thanks to a strong product, great people and strategies like fleet flexibility and simplification, Carty said. Our intent is to move forward aggressively in 2002 with marketing strategies to attract and retain customers, operating strategies that emphasize safety, security and on-time performance, and financing strategies that keep this Company`s financial foundations strong.



etirement of Aircraft



In connection with its strategy of reducing costs by simplifying its fleet, AMR announced today that it has reached an agreement with Boeing that, among other things, will result in the retirement of its 717 fleet by June of this year. The 717 is a short-haul, 100-seat airplane similar in size to the Fokker F100s already in American`s fleet. American does not need two airplanes of this fleet size and had always intended to retire the 717s. The agreement with Boeing allows American to do this earlier than planned.



The 717 is a fine aircraft, Carty said, but we are committed to simplifying the fleet, and it just doesn`t make sense to hold on to the 717s when we already have a fleet of 74 F100s in the 100-seat category. All we`re doing now is accelerating a retirement that had been in our fleet plan from the beginning of our TWA acquisition.



The 717 retirement is part of a broad fleet-simplification strategy that will see American reduce its total number of basic fleet types from 14 two years ago to seven types by the end of 2002. In 2001, American retired five fleet types – the MD11, MD90, DC10, MD87 and DC9. This year, it will take two more types out of the fleet – the 717 and the 727. As the numbers of fleet types shrink, the overall fleet becomes more reliable and easier and less costly to maintain.

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