American Airlines parent AMR Corp. has announced that it has reduced capacity on its winter schedule by 3% compared with a year ago. The airline also plans to retire up to 11 of its 124 757s aircraft next year. "While our advance bookings generally are in line with last year," said Virasb Vahidi, the airline's chief commercial officer, "we are taking these additional steps in light of the uncertain economic environment, ongoing high fuel costs and to ensure we run a reliable schedule for our customers." The airline has been hit in the past two months by larger-then-expected numbers of pilot retirements, which has forced it to ask its pilots union for relief so it has the manpower to meet its schedule.
American Airlines trims winter capacity
