American Airlines is reshuffling several management positions and has appointed a new chief restructuring officer, following its parent company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last week, reported Dow Jones Newswires.

    American Airlines was the only major carrier not to turn a profit last year and appeared set for another full-year loss in 2011. Its parent company was one of the last of the major US airlines to seek bankruptcy protection.

    AMR has suffered losses of more than US$10 billion since 2001 as the company has struggled to bring costs in line with rivals such as United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, which have restructured under court protection and found merger partners.

    The management changes come after former AMR and American chairman and chief executive Gerard Arpey said he would retire and was replaced by Thomas Horton, AMR and American's former president.

    Beverly Goulet was named chief restructuring officer, and she will retain her role as treasurer and vice-president of corporate development. She will develop and implement the company's restructuring efforts.

    Robert Reding, executive vice-president of operations, will retire at year's end, after 12 years with the company. James Ream, who is overseeing maintenance and engineering, will add Reding's responsibilities to his job description and was named senior vice-president of operations.

    Mark Burdette, vice-president of employee relations, will retire at the end of the year, after 20 years with AMR. Denise Lynn, vice-president of flight service, will move into his role.
Chief information officer Monte Ford will resign at the end of the year, after 10 years with the company. Maya Leibman, president of the airline's loyalty programme, was promoted into his job.

    Last month, AMR said it swung to a third-quarter loss as it again suffered under surging fuel expenses, which have been a particularly acute challenge for AMR in recent quarters. For the latest period, the company said aircraft fuel expenses jumped 40 percent from a year earlier.

    Earlier this fall, AMR repeatedly defended itself against speculation of an impending bankruptcy, and the company had stressed it had no plans to restructure in court.

(source:http://www.cargonewsasia.com/category.aspx?id=7)