Get a sense of humor. Take two, they're small. It doesn't matter what you call it--bonus, part of the pay package or a ham and cheese sandwich--the REALITY is that the PUP payments are rewards for doing not doing what executives are normally expected to do in order to gain "extra" pay (does that make you happy?)...lead the company to a profit!!!
That's all well and good, but the fact remains that the PUP/PSP contracts aren't predicated on any profit. That's the reality. Instead, the compensation committee of the Board created a scheme by which the executives would earn additional pay if AMR's stock price outperformed the stock of the peer group. That happened four years in a row. The 800 and some obscenely paid executives were entitled to the variable compensation component of their yearly income. It's a shame that none of the impotent unions on the property were smart enough to negotiate similar deals. Management is stupid, except when they're steamrolling the represented employees.
John Thain at Merrill Lynch got fired for demanding a $10 million bonus because M-L's loss was "only" $4 billion. The basis for the PUP payments is as phony as a three dollar bill.
So cast your vote at the next meeting of the Board to fire Arpey and the other 800 and some greedy worthless executives. Oh, that's right - you're not a Director. 😀