American Airlines Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

A file photo dated 09 April 2009 showing an American Airlines jet (front) landing near American Airlines MD-80s sitting on the tarmac outside the maintenance facility at O`Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, USA. EPA/BGNES

AMR Corp, the parent company of the United States' third-largest airline, American Airlines, has filed for chapter 11 bancruptcy in a New York court, it was announced on Tuesday.

American Airlines, American Eagle and all other subsidiaries will honor all tickets and reservations and operate normal flight schedules during the bankruptcy filing process, CNN informs.

The airline has further revealed that its chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey is retiring and is to be replaced by Thomas Horton.

"Folks at American have worked very hard and honorably to avoid that path over the last decade, but it became clear that gap had become too wide now, it had become untenable, and it was time to turn the page," Horton commented on Tuesday.

AMR Corp has suffered losses of more than USD 10 B since 2001 as the company has struggled to bring its cost structure in line with rivals such as United Airlines and Delta Air Lines who have restructured under court protection and found merger partners, The Wall Street Journal reminds.

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