By Julie MacIntosh NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) - Complicated airfare structures, security hassles, and shrunken corporate travel budgets are canceling profits at U.S. airlines, but none of the industry's biggest problems can be easily remedied, AMR Corp.'s chief executive said on Wednesday. The nation's largest air carriers lost more than $9 billion last year, and American Airlines, the world's No. 1 carrier and a unit of AMR Corp. (AMR), is slashing costs and fighting to defend its market share. AMR Chairman, President and Chief Executive Donald J. Carty, who has recently criticized some airport security procedures for making the industry's recovery more difficult, clarified his position to reporters on Wednesday. He cited several things he saw as nuisances, including rules that ban parking vehicles near an airline terminal, and secondary airport screening procedures, which force some passengers to undergo another security check at the gate. "That just means you didn't get it right the first time," he said. Carty was confident the government would fix procedures installed hastily after Sept. 11 that raise costs and cause hassles for passengers. But he also said: "It's always hard for the government to undo something they've done." Changes in security alone, however, won't salvage profits -- the industry must also overhaul its convoluted pricing structure, which makes choices difficult for travelers and costs the airlines money, Carty said. JETBLUE HURTING 'INDIRECTLY' Dallas/Ft. Worth-based American Airlines isn't afraid to throw its weight around to protect its market share on transcontinental U.S. flights, where two-year-old low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) is hurting American's business "indirectly," Carty said. JetBlue has built up its schedule of flights between the East Coast and Long Beach, California, and is shaving passengers away from American's cross-continent flights into nearby Los Angeles. JetBlue has said it plans to use all 27 flight slots it was granted at Long Beach, which had until recently been an underused airport. American, which currently has four temporary slots at the airport, had threatened to sue to get permanent flight slots there. An American Airlines spokesman said on Wednesday that the issue involving possible litigation had been settled, but JetBlue's chief executive, David Neeleman, said on Wednesday that JetBlue anticipated American could file litigation against the City of Long Beach shortly. JetBlue currently plans to take over the four slots American is temporarily using in January 2003, when JetBlue rounds out the service it has planned for Long Beach. STEPPING UP COMPETITION Heavy cuts in corporate travel budgets after the Sept. 11 attacks have exacerbated the downturn in the U.S. economy and prompted huge financial losses at air carriers. Most airlines say business travel is rebounding more slowly than they had expected. But while showing off one of American's first-class suites on a Boeing 777, where passengers in swiveling seats can eat filet mignon, Carty made the case for increased attention to the business class. "If anything, now represents a bigger competitive opportunity," he said, as airlines jockey for their share of a smaller pool of corporate travelers. Business travelers yield a disproportionate amount of airline revenue because their last-minute tickets can cost hundreds of dollars more than tickets purchased further in advance by leisure travelers. Carty said American is gaining market share with corporate accounts. He said fixing security issues that prompt corporate travelers to seek alternatives on the ground could also help bring business back. ©2002 Reuters Limited.