American Eagle May Furlough 223 Pilots And Flight Attendants

American Eagle, the regional-flying affiliate of American Airlines, may furlough

223 Texas-based pilots and flight attendants in February as the company cuts costs under bankruptcy protection.

American Eagle notified Texas officials of the possible furloughs on the same day that its CEO told employees that bankruptcy reorganization will mean job losses and unpopular decisions.

Eagle vice-president Cathy McCann told the Texas Workforce Commission in a letter received Thursday that 119 pilots and

104 flight attendants in the Dallas-Fort Worth area could lose their jobs around Feb. 13.

The employees work for Executive Airlines, an Eagle division that operates turboprop planes between U.S. and Caribbean points.

Eagle spokesperson Ed Martelle said that as the company considers cost-cutting moves, "there is a strong possibility" that turboprops used between Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and other U.S. destinations will be returned to the leasing company in late January.

American, the third-biggest U.S. airline, has about 74,000 employees, and Eagle has about 14,000, including part-timers.

Earlier this week, American announced that American Eagle will begin daily flights from Waterloo International Airport to Chicago starting in June. It plans 13 round-trip flights per week using 50-seat jets.

AMR Corp., which owns American Airlines and Eagle, filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 29. The company hopes to reduce debt and aircraft-lease obligations and reduce labour costs while in bankruptcy.

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