AIR TRAVEL NEWS
American Airlines cancels 600 more flights; Frontier seeks bankruptcy
Eight American flights canceled at LAX, airline says, and all wiring inspections could be completed by Saturday night. Frontier Airlines says it will continue flying.
10:01 AM PDT -- American Airlines canceled nearly 600 more flights across the U.S. today as part of its MD-80 jet fleet remains grounded for maintenance checks.
The carrier said it expects to have the last of its 300 MD-80s inspected and back in the air by late Saturday, raising hopes that its snarled route system will be back to normal by Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, the parent of discount carrier Frontier Airlines became the fourth airline in a month to file for bankruptcy protection, although the Denver-based carrier said it would continue flying.
Of the 595 flights American scrubbed today, eight were at Los Angeles International Airport, where the carrier has 92 daily departures. A small number of flights were also canceled at airports in Burbank, Ontario and San Diego.
American, which operates about 2,300 flights a day, has scrapped more than 3,000 flights this week, disrupting travel for an estimated 250,000 people.
American abruptly grounded its entire fleet of MD-80s on Tuesday so wiring bundles in the planes' wheel wells could be inspected, and repaired if necessary. The airline said it took the action to comply with strict new oversight of airline maintenance practices by the Federal Aviation Administration. At the height of the trouble Wednesday, American scrapped 1,100 flights.
The airline said customers should go to its website at www.aa.com for flight status updates and for information on rebooking and compensation.
CEO Gerard Arpey noted this week's flight cancellations will cost American tens of millions of dollars, but he said but the carrier can withstand the losses.
Frontier said its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing was triggered by a credit-card processor's decision to withhold proceeds from ticket sales. Denver-based Frontier did not name the company. Frontier pledged to continue flying and keep paying workers while it seeks additional financing.
In the last three weeks, Skybus Airlines, ATA Airlines and the parent of Aloha Airlines ceased operations after filing for bankruptcy. High oil prices and the weakening U.S. economy were blamed for the failures.
"We filed for very different reasons than those of other recent carriers," Frontier chief executive Sean Menke said. "We believe that we currently have adequate cash on hand to meet our operating needs while we take steps to further strengthen our company."
Frontier, which flies to 70 destinations from Denver, serves LAX and John Wayne Airport in Orange County, but isn't a major player in the market. It has accounted for less than 1% of passenger boardings at LAX this year.
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