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A. They are. We got letter after letter from folks telling us that they worked hard to get a decent fare, and then they got on the airplane and the person next to them had bought a ticket yesterday for half the price. They said the discount rates weren't fair, they weren't flexible. They said the prices were too complicated. We read our letters. We talked to our customers. And we designed a system that is better for everyone.
Q. For everyone? You can hardly expect many vacationers to think it is better. Many fares no longer exist, the deeply discounted fares that made it possible for a lot of people to take vacations they won't be able to afford now.
A. You mean those fares for green-haired people who only fly on Tuesdays? We are not going to offer those crazy fares. If others do, we will either ignore them or we will move our structure down to match the level. But we are going to stick to our four fares.
Q. How do you answer the critics who say that American is improperly attempting to impose prices on the entire industry, that you and United and Delta have become too powerful?
A. It's a pretty sorry commentary on power when a company loses $40 million in 1990, when it loses $240 million in 1991, when it is compelled to cancel $8 billion worth of capital commitments such as new-airplane purchases, and when it formally gives up its long-term growth plan because of its inability to earn a return on its shareholders' investment. That's really not very much power, is it?