American not eager to buy new Boeing jet Associated Press DALLAS - American Airlines is unlikely to buy Boeing Co.'s next jetliner until the money-losing carrier returns to profitability and can get better credit terms, its chief executive said Wednesday. Gerard Arpey said American considers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, due out in 2008, "a very intriguing airplane," but added that American likes to pass on the first model of new jets. Arpey made the comments during an investors' conference. He also emphatically renewed American's vow to fight an effort by rival Southwest Airlines Co. to make long-haul flights from Dallas Love Field, which would compete with American's flights at nearby Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Arpey accused Dallas-based Southwest of trying to exploit its "monopoly" at Love Field, where flights are limited to Texas and seven nearby states by a 1979 law called the Wright Amendment. "Southwest can start tomorrow from DFW and compete with American, and I suspect if the Wright Amendment isn't repealed, that's what they'll do," Arpey said. Although American's parent, Fort Worth-based AMR Corp., has lost more than $7 billion since the beginning of 2001, it has one of the strongest balance sheets in the U.S. airline industry, prompting an analyst to ask Arpey whether American would buy the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Last month, Northwest Airlines announced it would buy 18 787s - at a cost of $2.2 billion - for long flights and buy options for another 50. American is expanding flights from the U.S. to Japan and adding a route to China next year. Arpey said it didn't make sense that AMR should invest in new planes as it struggles to turn a profit. "We've got to take the airplanes we have today and drive them to profitability," Arpey said. Once the company is profitable, he said, it could get better terms on loans for new aircraft. Boeing said it has 21 customers who have placed 128 firm orders for the 787, including Houston-based Continental Airlines Inc. Boeing bills the plane as a money-saver that uses less fuel and has lower maintenance costs than current jetliners. "We're certainly open to talking to any customers no matter what their situation," Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach said in response to Arpey's comments. Shares of AMR rose 13 cents, to $14.13 in trading Wednesday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange. Roger EWROPS