Wings West Cancels Order for 10 Aircraft : Move Is Condition for Merger With AMR

Wings West Airlines said Friday that it has canceled a $100-million order for 10 turboprop airliners it had placed with British Aerospace, clearing the way for Wings West’s merger into AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines.

AMR had threatened to cancel the $41.7-million merger with Wings West unless the smaller airline renegotiated the aircraft purchase to AMR’s satisfaction. As a result of the cancellation, “the merger is on,” said David Jorgensen, a spokesman for Wings West.

Wings West, based in San Luis Obispo, now operates as American Eagle under a 2-year-old marketing agreement with American Airlines. Under the agreement, American provides Wings West with reservations and ticketing services for a reduced fee.

Wings West, in turn, feeds passengers to American flights departing from the state’s larger airports, including those in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

AMR agreed to acquire Wings West on April 18 after the smaller airline’s major shareholders said they wanted to sell their shares. At the time, AMR said it did not want Wings West to fall into the hands of a competitor.

After evaluating Wings West’s fleet, AMR decided that the commuter airline did not need the 10 60-seat ATP aircraft it had ordered from British Aerospace. Wings West’s fleet now consists of 36 Fairchild Metroliners, each of which has 19 seats.

British Aerospace spokesman George Dahlman said the firm now expects to sell the 10 ATP aircraft to other air carriers. No U.S. airline uses ATPs, although they are flown by small airlines in Britain and other countries.

Wings West said an order for 15 British Aerospace Super Jetstream 31 aircraft, which carry 19 passengers, was not affected by the merger.