American awaits flight attendants vote DALLAS (AP) =97 The future of American Airlines hung in the balance at= midday=20 Tuesday after pilots and transport workers ratified concessions aimed at=20 staving off bankruptcy, but flight attendants had yet to report voting=20 results. At midday, paperwork for a bankruptcy filing in the New York=20 courts was ready to go, pending the outcome of the voting by flight=20 attendants which was still too close to call, sources familiar with the=20 situation said. American, a division of AMR Corp. (AMR), has said=20 repeatedly it would file for bankruptcy if any of its three main unions did= =20 not ratify the concession deals aimed at saving the carrier $1.8 billion a= =20 year in labor costs At the overall Transport Workers Union, the concessions= =20 were narrowly approved, with 53% voting in favor. Mechanics, who make up about half of that group, also voted 53% in favor of= =20 accepting concessions. "There is no question that these agreements=20 represent a major step backwards for our union," the TWU said on its web=20 site. "We made these agreements only because it is painfully obvious that= =20 the results of bankruptcy proceedings would have been far worse." John Darrah, the leader of the Allied Pilots Association, said at a press=20 conference in Texas he was prepared to fly to New York, anticipating a=20 close-of-business-day court filing if all unions did not ratify their=20 tentative agreements. "Some did not like the six-year agreement," Darrah=20 told reporters. "Some thought we could do better in bankruptcy. I disagree= =20 with that." The APA, representing 13,500 pilots, said the concessions were= =20 approved by a 69% margin. More than 95% of eligible pilots voted. George Price, spokesman for the Association of Professional Flight=20 Attendants, said the group's leadership was meeting to discuss the vote at= =20 least through 1 p.m. CT. All voting results were due by 11 a.m. CT on Tuesday. But by 12:35 p.m. CT,= =20 flight attendants had yet to report results, having earlier asked for an=20 extension. The airline declined. Once again, as was the case two weeks ago,= =20 the day was filled with tension in various camps. A banking source familiar= =20 with the matter said Monday that American has almost wrapped up $1.5=20 billion in special bankruptcy financing, called debtor-in-possession or DIP= =20 financing, should it file for bankruptcy. The potential DIP lenders are the= =20 lead bank, Citibank, along with J.P. Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch. and CIT=20 Group, the source said. If Fort Worth-based American files for Chapter 11=20 protection, Citibank will put up $750 million in a special credit-card=20 backed DIP, similar to what Bank One did for UAL Corp.'s United Airlines=20 last December. The four lenders will take equal part in the remaining $750= =20 million of financing. The total DIP loan can be increased to $1.75 billion,= =20 if necessary, upon a special vote, the source said. Sources familiar with=20 the situation have told Reuters that American's management remains=20 committed to the idea that the airline can restructure outside of=20 bankruptcy court if workers go along, even though others are skeptical. AMR Chief Executive Don Carty has told workers that American, if it enters= =20 bankruptcy, would seek an additional $500 million in labor cost cuts above= =20 the $1.8 billion in the concession pacts, as well as several thousand=20 additional job cuts. Union members have expressed anger at the deals that=20 will cut pay for several major groups by between 15% and 23%. They said the= =20 almost six-year concession agreements do not include significant provisions= =20 to bump up their pay if the carrier returns to profitability. The pot was sweetened for labor groups by the airline, which offered them a= =20 profit-sharing plan and a stock-option deal that could have them owning up= =20 to 20% of the company. AMR lost an airline-industry record $3.5 billion in= =20 2002 and has said for months that its losses were unsustainable. Shares of= =20 AMR were 25% higher at $3.85 in early afternoon trading on the New York=20 Stock Exchange. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.carstt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************