American Flight Attendants and Airline Remain in Negotiations

American Airlines and its flight attendants union continued negotiating into the night Friday in an effort to reach a labor agreement and avoid a costly and disruptive strike against the nation’s second-largest carrier.

The Dallas-based carrier’s 21,000 flight attendants were to have been legally free to strike against the airline as early as 12:01 a.m. today if negotiations failed. However, most industry observers said they would not expect a walkout until the busy Thanksgiving holiday. The flight attendants have said they would strike on or before Nov. 22.

“The threat of a strike in and of itself could damage American,” airline industry consultant David Hoppin said. “People will book away from American. The flight attendants might not have to go off their jobs to cause trouble.”

American spokesman Albert P. Comeaux said the pace of reservations had not changed as a result of a potential walkout. “Our reservations are steady and in good shape,” he said. “Thanksgiving is a heavy travel period, but we hope to reach an agreement before then.”

The negotiations were being held in a Dallas-area hotel under the supervision of federal mediators, said Randy Edwards, spokesman for the Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants.

“Both sides are working very hard to see this thing through,” Edwards said. “We think it’s encouraging that the parties are continuing to talk.”

The airline and union officials have been at odds over changes in work rules, benefits and concessions that American officials claim are necessary to increase productivity and ensure long-term profitability. American, which reported an operating loss of $25 million last year, has laid off workers, cut back new plane orders and eliminated unprofitable flights.

But after American reported a third-quarter profit last week, the flight attendants, who are seeking higher wages, say the call for concessions is moot.

American, however, remains under pressure to extract some savings from flight attendants as it prepares to enter into contract negotiations with pilots next year. “If they cave in to the flight attendants, it makes it a lot tougher to get concessions out of the pilots and the machinists,” Hoppin said.

American’s pilots union--the Allied Pilots Assn.--has pledged to support the flight attendants’ negotiation efforts, and said individual pilots could honor picket lines.