American Delays Caribbean Decision American Airlines Puts Off Decision to Divest Its Caribbean Operation, American Eagle SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- American Airlines has put off a decision to divest its Caribbean operation, American Eagle, to cope with a union contract clause that limits flying, because it found a temporary solution, an Eagle spokesman said Thursday. The airline will change coding on flights through St. Louis, Mo., which will let it comply for at least six months with the contract's demand for a flight cap, said Kurt Iverson, spokesman for the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline owned by AMR Corp (NYSE:AAR - news). Following lower demand for flights after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, American Airlines was forced to give 500 pilots furloughs. A clause in the pilots union contract demands that, if pilots are put on involuntary leave, the airline cannot increase the number of miles it flies nor increase the number of seats. Because the American Eagle, the largest airline service in the Caribbean, has increased routes and flights, it put the airline in jeopardy of violating its contract with pilots. American said Thursday that changing the codes on St. Louis flights by another American affiliate, American Connection, would allow the airline six to nine months before it had to decide whether to sell Eagle. "Most of the changes will have minimal impact on the passengers," Iverson said. American Eagle has laid off or given temporary leave to about 1,400 employees since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com