AMR to pay millions on debt due to vote extension = = = = Tuesday April 15, 5:03 PM EDT = DALLAS, April 15 (Reuters) - American Airlines said on Tuesday it would f= ile for bankruptcy if its flight attendant rejected a concession deal, ad= ding it will be forced to make millions of dollars in debt payments becau= se it extended a deadline on the vote. American, a division of AMR Corp. (AMR). had asked all three of its major= unions to ratify concession deals aimed at saving the world's largest ca= rrier $1.8 billion in annual labor costs by Tuesday. It extended the voti= ng until Wednesday for flight attendants, the only group that rejected th= e deals. "In order to be able to extend the deadline, the company announced that i= t will immediately make millions of dollars in scheduled debt payments du= e today as part of its ongoing commitment to preserve jobs and avoid bank= ruptcy," it said in a statement. "With almost 10,000 jobs hanging in the balance, and the future of 100,00= 0 employees at stake, we agreed to take this risk and make this investmen= t for our employees because we believe that all employees will be better = off if we can save jobs and restructure our costs consensually rather tha= n through the bankruptcy process," AMR Chairman Don Carty said. = =A92003 Reuters Limited. = Roger EWROPS