American Airlines may be filing for bankruptcy. My dad is a pilot for them. What does this mean for me?

Chances are that they are filing operating bankruptcy (Chapter 11) which means that they are reorganizing their debt structure while under the bankruptcy court’s protection, which is unlikely to mean any changes in staffing. Your dad’s job should be safe for now.

For you? It means no more free flights if he’s out, but like @marinelife said, he’s probably okay for now. My uncle is a pilot for them too, and he hasn’t said anything about his job being in jeopardy yet.

Rather, not for me, but my family…
I may have phrased that wrong.

That’s good news, though.

No frequent flier miles, and your family will have to tighten its belt, as your father will have to take unemployment if he can’t find another job as a pilot quickly.

Don’t panic. Most likely your dad will be fine. I guess it is possible he could have some reduction in flying hours if they cut some routes. If he has been with them a while, his seniority will probably help. My guess is, and just a guess, pilots feel the least of the changes when something like this happens. The adninistrative people probably get more work piled on them, but pilots are regulated by very strict rules, they can’t give more hours of work than permitted by law.

There is a possibility he might get asked to ake a cut in pay, but I doubt it. However, his pay will likely be frozen, no raises for a while. The courts may also have the company reevaluate the benefits programs for employees. Pensions, disability, health care, and cut back on some of those.

I think you will still get some of the perks of flying for free, or a very minimal amount, because it costs the airline almost nothing to give that perk.

@jellyfish3232 It’s way to early to tell especially just knowing that your dad is a pilot for them. How long has he been there? Seniority is EVERYTHING at the airlines. I know because I am there. Chances are…..and this is just an educated guess…...the possible bankruptcy is just a ploy as AA is in contract negotiations. AA has a VERY old pilot group (read lots of retirements) and VERY inefficient airplanes (read new planes.) There is a good chance that AA will not furlough any more pilots. They are recalling the great guys and gals that were furloughed by AA after the TWA merger. (I use the term merger loosely)

Good luck and try not to worry. At fourteen you are a little to young to remember the real affects of September 11th on the airline industry. In fact, most people don’t understand….they just like to complain about cost, hassle, TSA….. Keep your chin up as this will pass. Americans will continue to travel and the airlines will have ups and downs the rest of our lives.

@missingbite I heard a recent report that many of the airlines are making a fortune lately with all the luggage fees they charge. Perfect for the airline to use 9/11 as a way to convince the public they need to charge you to check your bag.

Sure some airlines were hit extremely hard with the shut down during and after 9/11 some sirlines went out of business. But that is a long time ago now.

@JLeslie With all due respect, September 11th is still hurting most of the employees of all major airlines as well as the bottom dollar for the companies. SWA is an exception as their business plan is completely different.

The airlines have started to charge per item for everything because the ticket prices are still at a historic low. About 40% of each ticket is tax and security fees that our government gets. On top of that, people are traveling with more and more weight every year including their own body weight. (The more an airplane weighs, the more expensive it is to fly)

As far a baggage fees are concerned and airlines making a fortune, keep in mind that until the last year or so all airlines (except SWA) were losing billions.

Do me a favor and research what a round trip ticket would have cost a passenger in 1980 and compare that cost for the same flight today and adjust for inflation. You will be amazed.

Before deregulation only the top of society could afford to fly. Today almost all Americans can afford to take a flight with a little planning.

On a side note just for info, United airlines lost two beautiful airplanes on September 11th. Total cost for the insurance company to replace those airplanes was over 230 Million dollars for the airframes alone. That was before any lawsuits, loss of service, et cetera. If you think for a second the cost of insurance of an airplane didn’t go way up on September 12th, think again. The cost of running an airline is astronomically higher today because of the affects of the attacks.

@missingbite Delta airlines seems to be doing ok. I flippin’ hate them for charging such high fares. I live at a Delta hub currently, in the interest of full disclosure. I am all for business making a profit, but I have thought many times about reporting them for gouging, especially Northwest Airlines who was charging $750+ for an hour flight out of Memphis to Gulfport, MS after Katrina, but $$250 if you started the flight in a different city. That is all about competition and lack there of.

Other airlines try to get into Memphis airport so we can have a little nonstop competition, but something always foil it. Something bad going on there.

Did you see the episode on Undercover Boss about Frontier Airlines? The executives making a fortune, and the staff had taken cuts in pay, but had not been restored to full wages when the profits started rolling back in? The expectations put on the staff were outrageous, handling three jobs at once.

I am sure there are still some airlines struggling, I am not exactly sure if it all relates back to 9/11 maybe some of it does, but I think there are other factors also.

About the baggage fees

I am ok with charging a fee, but $25—$30? Why so greedy?! $10, ok, but they get into fees that sorely piss people off.

@JLeslie I can see we are getting way off topic and not going to agree but lets put this into perspective. You stated that you are ok with businesses making a profit so please read the first line of your last link. “after three years of losses” is how it starts.

Delta airlines only 18 months ago was in the red, were you offering to pay more to help them out?

Airlines are cyclical and generally only operate on a 2 or 3% profit margin in the good years. Hardly what I would call making a fortune in the long run.

Again, we will have to agree to disagree.

BTW, pack less and carry it on so it won’t cost you anything. That is what the airlines would prefer you to do anyway. Or, I believe you live in Memphis, so send it FedEx and see what that will cost you! A lot more than $25.00 but a better chance it will show up.

@missingbite I never checked my bags, maybe once in 10 years, until they decided I cannot take my hair mousse with me. No, my mousse does not come in travel size and you cannot dram it out. If I am going just for vacation, I bring subpar styling products. If I am going to an event I need my stuff. On Delta I actually check my bag for free, because I have their credit card, but I hate it, I want posession of my bag, and I am tired of it being squished and torn. I pack well, it fits in the overhead. I realize this is TSA not the airline.

I don’t think we competely disagree. I agree with some of your points, I just think it is not black and white. And, I think the ivory tower is still making very very high salaries when they ask their staff to cut and passengers to pay more.

@missingbite I agree with you that we have moved off topic though. I’ll ask a separate question maybe.

@JLeslie You are absolutely 110% correct about the ivory tower making millions on the backs of employees. Unfortunately that is going on in all industries!!

@missingbite True.