APFA vote spread, will it change drastically?

SPECIAL JETWIRE FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2003

PLEASE POST ON ALL BULLETIN BOARDS

---Tentative Agreement Ratification Voting
Deadline Extended for Flight Attendants---

The company was advised that the APA and TWU consensual agreements have been ratified. The APFA is the only union that has not yet ratified its agreement. However, the APFA has advised us that, unlike the other union groups, once members initially voted they were not able to change their position, even after the contract was improved during the ratification process.

Since a final failure to ratify would cause a bankruptcy filing by the company, in an effort to give flight attendants the same opportunity available to other union employees, and in consideration of the importance of this matter to American, all of its employees and their families, the company has agreed to the APFA''s request to extend the voting period until 5 p.m. CDT, Wednesday, April 16. Flight attendants will be permitted to change their ballots if they wish to do so. No one is required to vote again. Any votes not changed will be counted as they currently stand.

This message is to advise you of this development and to encourage flight attendants to participate in this vital process. Any flight attendant who did not have an opportunity to vote or wish to change their vote may call the American Arbitration Association at 800-529-5218 until 5 p.m. CDT, Wednesday, April 16, 2003. Additionally, they can call this number if they have any questions or have misplaced their pin number.

Additional information for flight attendants is now available on the Flight Service Web site

 

[FA Mikey]

Does anyone see any big change in the vote? I haven''t spoke with anyone who was a No and wants to change to yes. I have though spoke to people the other way. Who voted Yes and have since changed to a No. Miami wont see a change, whats up in the other bases?

 

[bicaal]

How about the fact that the exact numbers of yes, no, and ineligible were made public by APFA? Honest indeed!

 

Dow Jones Business News
AMR Flight Attendants Expected To Okay New Contract
Wednesday April 16, 10:02 am ET
By Ann Keeton, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Flight attendants at American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp. (NYSE:AMR - News) , are expected to ratify a new contract late Wednesday, reversing a vote Tuesday that likely would have forced the world''s largest airline into bankruptcy.
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In reports early Wednesday, analysts wrote that the flight attendants will probably join American''s other two major unions, representing pilots and groundworkers, including mechanics, in approving cuts in wages and benefits. American has said it needs to save $1.8 billion in annual labor costs in order to avoid a certain Chapter 11 filing.

The company has said even if it gets labor costs down, it could still go bankrupt.

Tuesday, the 26,000-member Association of Professional Flight Attendants turned down the contract, which included a 15% pay cut, by about 500 hundred votes. After meeting with the company, union officials said they would vote again. During the voting process, some changes had been made in the contract, adding bonuses for employees if the airline'' business turns around. Flight attendants, unlike the other labor groups, had not been permitted to change their votes during the voting period.

Voting Wednesday will end at 6:00 p.m. EDT.

Analyst James Higgins at Credit Suisse First Boston wrote in a report early Wednesday that he believes the flight attendants will ratify the contract. "We have moved slightly toward a position that expects AMR to avoid a Chapter 11 filing. For months now, we had viewed the outcome as too close to call."

He said the new contracts would reduce American''s labor costs by 21%, paving the way for the airline to renegotiate loan covenants for payments due June 30.

"If AMR is to avoid a Chapter 11 filing, we believe the shares could jump into the $5 to $6 range." But he said if the flight attendants vote down the new contract and bankruptcy is inevitable, "shares would likely drop to $1," Higgins said.

The analyst doesn''t own the stock, but CS First Boston has a financial relationship with the airline.

Analyst Michael Linenberg at Merrill Lynch said he believes the flight attendants will vote for the new contract. Bankruptcy, he said, "would be a far worse alternative than the concessions. Also, we believe the flight attendants will face tremendous pressure from the other employee groups to ''get on board.'' As such, we expect AMR to narrowly avert bankruptcy, at least, for now."

The analyst, who doesn''t own AMR stock, said shares could rise $1 on a favorable vote.

The stock closed at $3.40 Tuesday, after trading was halted late in the session