Bruce Hicks, a AMR spokesman said “the restructuring
process is difficult for everyone affected, and we
understand any changes to these benefits are concerning
to our retirees.” Hick further stated that the new plan
they propose for their current retires will be similar
to their current employees plan, that is they will have
to pay for it. AMR and American Airlines
reported in court documents that they currently provide
retiree health and welfare benefits to five groups of
retired employees:
(1) Retired non-union employees (the "Non-Union
Retirees");
(2) Retired pilots (the "Pilot Retirees");
(3) Retired ground employees who had been employed in a
variety of different positions (the "TWU Retirees");
(4) Retired flight attendants (the "Flight Attendant
Retirees"); and
(5) retired employees of Trans World Airlines (the "TWA
Retirees").
AMR and American Airlines’ reported that they paid
out for retiree health and welfare benefits for
current Non-Union Retirees, Pilot Retirees, TWU
Retirees, and Flight Attendant Retirees, $1.2
billion and $111 million to TWA Retirees in year
2010, year 2011 was mentioned, more than likely much
lower.
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