American Bankruptcy

Why that's good news for travelers

Just weeks before one of the busiest travel times of the year, American Airlines' parent company, AMR, filed for bankruptcy protection. But don't worry: plans to head home for the holidays aren't likely to be interrupted. We might even see some airfare bargains in 2012.

Until late November, American was the only remaining major airline to have avoided Chapter 11 in recent years. Its main competitors, Delta and United, had used bankruptcy to save billions of dollars, renegotiate labor contracts and, with the help of mergers, return to profitability. American, on the other hand, has lost money in all but two...

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