Two years ago, American was the biggest airline at Logan in terms of passengers but is now fourth, operating 56 inbound and outbound flights a day to as many as eight destinations and carrying 11 percent of the airport’s passengers.
“Boston Logan is in the enviable position of having robust competition among carriers and no airline dominates the local market,” said Matthew Brelis, spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan. “Airlines have operated in Chapter 11 bankruptcy before and Massport has been made whole by every major tenant carrier currently operating here that has gone through the Chapter 11 process.”
American said that it would continue to honor tickets and take reservations and that the frequent-flier program would not be affected. But new AMR Corp. chief executive Thomas W. Horton, who replaced Gerard Arpey today, said as the company goes through a restructuring it will probably reduce the flight schedule ‘‘modestly,’’ with corresponding cuts in jobs.
“Our board decided that it was necessary to take this step now to restore the company’s profitability, operating flexibility, and financial strength,’’ said Horton, former president of the company, based in Fort Worth, Texas.
American was the only major US airline that didn’t file for bankruptcy protection in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks, which triggered a deep slump in the airline industry. Analysts said its reluctance to do so earlier had left it less nimble than many of its competitors.
In all, more than 200 mostly smaller airlines have gone out of business or filed for bankruptcy in the past 12 years, Herbst said.
“There’s so much political pressure to keep airfare low that it’s tough for airlines to be profitable,” he said
