Union leaders at American Airlines have been highly critical of company's direction in recent years, but today they have some hopeful things to say about the future. Blasts from the Allied Pilots Association and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants both highlighted AMR Corp.'s better-than-expected first-quarter financial performance, and noted that analysts have expressed optimism for the rest of the year.
"Mmost analysts now foresee a industry turnaround throughout the remainder of the year as the high travel season progresses, capacity cuts come closer to matching passenger demand and the economy overall begins to show its long-hoped-for improvement," the APFA wrote to members.
And the APA wrote that "industry analysts agree that the end of the quarter could signal the beginning of a long-awaited turnaround and most are upgrading their 2009 earning projections for AMR and the industry."
It should be noted, of course, that the unions are in contract negotiations, and a return to profitability would bolster their argument that AMR can afford to give employees raises and improved benefits and work rules. Still, any positive talk from AA labor is worth some attention.
And lest one think it's suddenly all roses and sunshine from the unions, both groups slammed executives for their annual stock bonuses, which were paid out this week. Pilots said the payouts were "just another example of how detached AMR management is from their employees," while flight attendants said they were the "2009 version of the AMR spring money grab."

