American Says Dispute May Affect Jet Order

American Airlines said the carrier’s bitter contract dispute with its pilots means it will not be able to take delivery of some Boeing Co. jets next year, as scheduled under a $6.5-billion contract. Donald Carty, president of the AMR Corp. unit, also warned that the Boeing deal could be scrapped if the contract settlement proves too expensive. He said the entire contract for the delivery of 103 jets between 1998 and 2002 depends on a successful resolution, from the company’s perspective, of the contract dispute. “We have already upped the ante, and we don’t have many more places to go,” Carty said. There was no immediate comment from the Allied Pilots Assn., which went on strike Friday until President Clinton intervened. Boeing spokeswoman Liz Verdier said it was Boeing’s understanding that “the Boeing deal was not in danger,” but that the 1998 delivery schedule for American’s new jets may slip because of uncertainties in the labor dispute. Under the November order, American was to receive its first jet, a wide-body 767, in March 1998. AMR’s stock fell 50 cents to close at $81.75, while Boeing slid $2.375 to $107.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.