Airline Chief Threatens to Slash Jobs : Labor: American chairman also rejects offer to turn dispute over to mediation panel. Strike is likely to affect passengers through holiday week.

Remaining defiant in the face of a crippling and costly flight attendants’ strike, American Airlines Chairman Robert L. Crandall on Sunday rebuffed a union proposal for emergency federal mediation and threatened to eliminate the jobs of about 4,000 attendants.

On a day of heightening rhetoric, Crandall offered little relief for American’s beleaguered passengers, saying only about 40% of the carrier’s flights would transport customers over the busy Thanksgiving holiday. In addition, he said it might take the nation’s second-largest carrier up to two months to restore flight schedules to pre-strike conditions.

“We do not intend to give in to the (union’s) demands,” said Crandall during a press conference at American’s Dallas headquarters. “While we are greatly concerned about the short-term financial consequences of this strike, the real issue at stake is our company’s long-term survival as an airline.”

Crandall refused to join the 21,000-member Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants--which launched the strike Thursday--in asking the National Mediation Board to form an emergency panel to review the dispute and recommend a settlement.

Such a panel most likely would split the difference between the two sides’ final contract offers--a decision that would jeopardize the carrier’s long-term profitability and survival, he said.

The union said it would call off the strike if an emergency panel was created--a step that requires President Clinton’s approval. The National Mediation Board, a federal agency whose activities are restricted to transportation industries, is expected today to review the union’s request. To recommend formation of the panel, the mediation board would have to conclude that the American strike represented a major disruption in interstate commerce.

Clinton waved off questions about the strike at appearances in the Los Angeles area Sunday.

Seeking to avoid chaos at the nation’s airports over the coming days, U.S. Department of Transportation officials will meet with airline executives in Washington today to review plans for handling the overflow of American passengers.

The department also will lift takeoff and landing restrictions at some of the nation’s busiest airports, said department spokesman Richard Mintz.

“We are deeply concerned about the impact,” said Mintz. “There is not enough capacity in the system without American to accommodate all the people who want to travel” during the Thanksgiving holiday.

About 9 million people are expected to fly in the coming week, according to industry estimates.

The flight attendants and American have deadlocked over salary demands, changes in work rules and concessions sought by management. The flight attendants claim that the pay raises being offered by the airline would be negated by employee contributions for health and retiree benefits. The company also wants to reduce the number of attendants on some flights.

At the core of the union’s strategy is a plan to end the strike Sunday. But Crandall said reduced staffing levels will result in the loss of 4,000 positions by the time flight attendants report for duty Nov. 29.

The airline declined to specify how the cuts will be achieved. But officials said the number of attendants will be cut on flights with lots of empty seats, provisions will be made to retain replacement workers and slackened demand will reduce the airline’s overall need for attendants.

“When all is said and done, there will be 4,000 fewer flight attendants’ jobs available,” said Crandall, whose figures were disputed by union officials. “Everybody is not coming back to work in any case.”

The airline on Sunday continued interviewing candidates across the country--including in Los Angeles--to replace striking attendants. American said it had interviewed 5,000 applicants and selected 1,200 for training.

But union officials were unfazed, saying that American will be unable to train workers to permanently replace its members by the time they return to work.

“(Crandall) can say that all he wants. It’s all a harassment tactic,” said Charles Chien, an American flight attendant who walked a picket line at Los Angeles International Airport. “We’ve got to remember that before they can get rid of us, they need someone to replace us.”

The strike is costing American at least $10 million a day, and it is expected to contribute to a loss for the year, said Crandall. Without sufficient numbers of safety-trained flight attendants, American has been restricted to flying only half its flights with paying passengers.

Apologizing for the disruption to American passengers, Crandall said American will offer refunds to holders of non-refundable tickets if they are unable to find seats on other carriers. In addition, those who cannot get a flight at a reasonable time between tomorrow and next Monday can get a $100 voucher good for one year toward an American ticket.

Still, without a settlement, the potential for disruption is certain to raise concerns among American’s customers, travel agents said.

“The next concern is the Christmas holidays,” said Thomas Nulty, president of Santa Ana-based Associated Travel Management. “If they are going to travel on some peak travel days, we might have to consider recommending someone else than American.”

“People are less edgy today,” said Rod Tarrago, a 21-year-old student from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Tarrago was delayed for several hours at LAX on Thursday when his American flight from Los Angeles to Chicago was postponed.

On Sunday, however, Tarrago surveyed the short ticket lines and said: “It looks like people are more prepared and have changed their plans by phone.”

Times staff writer Stuart Silverstein contributed to this story.