New CEO: American bookings up, fuel costs down FORT WORTH, Texas, May 8 (Reuters) =97 American Airlines has benefited in= the=20 past two weeks from falling fuel prices and improved bookings, the new=20 chief executive said Thursday, but the future remains uncertain for the=20 world's largest carrier, which recently teetered on the brink of=20 bankruptcy. "The future is uncertain, but the clouds have parted a little=20 bit," Gerard Arpey told reporters at a breakfast at the headquarter of=20 American parent AMR. The first quarter, in which American had a net loss of= =20 $1 billion, was an "absolute disaster," said Arpey, who took over two week= =20 ago after his predecessor resigned amid union protests over executive=20 bonuses and pension benefits. "I'm hopeful that it will represent the low=20 point." Unrestricted cash on hand at the end of March 31 was $1.3 billion,= =20 he said. Deals with aircraft lessors, while not complete, are closer, Arpey= =20 added. "I am optimistic that we are going to get to the finish line ... but= =20 we are not there yet." He said one of the first steps to improving the=20 fiances for the struggling carrier would be having a positive cash flow. Arpey said that the company has not drawn a line in the sand for completing= =20 deals with lessors. He said he wants to see a resolution as quickly as=20 possible and some of the sticking points have to do with items such as=20 contractual language. American appointed Arpey CEO after former Chief Executive Don Carty,=20 resigned. Union leaders, who last month agreed to give back $1.8 billion a= =20 year in pay and other benefits to stave off bankruptcy, blasted Carty after= =20 learning about special executive retention bonuses and pension benefits. "A= =20 lot of the building blocks are in place to ensure the company's future,"=20 Arpey said. Those building blocks include the labor deals as well as plans= =20 to cut operating costs by a total of $4 billion a year, he said. One boost= =20 struggling airline industry could use would be an increase in fares, which= =20 have fallen over the last few years as demand for air travel has slumped,=20 Arpey said. "Average fares have got to go up," Arpey said, adding that=20 could only be accomplished when the industry has pricing power. In his=20 first few days on the job, Arpey said he has made it a point to meet with=20 employees and make sure they were on board after a turbulent period where a= =20 rift between labor and management over executive perks cost the former CEO= =20 his job *************************************************** 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.cso.gov.tt TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************