Losses top £6m a day at AMR

AMERICAN Airlines parent AMR racked up record losses of more than £6m a day in the final quarter of last year, hit by continued fallout from the 11 September terrorist attacks and a weak US economy.

The airline, BA's would-be transatlantic partner, posted a net loss of $798m (£565m) for the three months, from a net profit of $47m a year earlier. Stripping out one-off items, the net loss was $734m, from a $56m profit last time.

'Influenced by the lingering effects of last September's attacks, the final three months of 2001 were incredibly difficult,' said Don Carty, AMR's chairman and chief executive. 'Traffic, particularly business travel, was down significantly in the quarter, which - when combined with lower average fares - resulted in a record quarterly loss.'

The loss brings the full-year deficit to $1.4bn before one-offs, from a profit of $752m the previous year. Carty said AMR had a long way to go to return to profitability, but there were several encouraging signs. It had strengthened cash reserves, and cut capacity, capital spending and costs. AMR slashed about 20,000 jobs in the weeks after the attacks, in which AA lost two passenger jets.