Pilots Union Must Pay AMR $45.5 Million

The pilots union for AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and the union’s leaders were ordered to pay the company $45.5 million in damages for ignoring a judge’s order to end a February 1999 work stoppage. The ruling by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals came a day after the Allied Pilots Assn. rejected a one-year contract extension that included a provision to settle the issue. The decision helps the airline keep pressure on pilots to raise the number of regional jetliners it can fly, one of the ways American could have been repaid for losses from the job action. Pilots called in sick to protest American’s acquisition of Reno Airlines Inc., which they saw as a threat to pay and jobs. The stoppage snarled U.S. airports, forced American to cancel 6,600 flights and cost AMR about $250 million. AMR closed up $1.06 at $34.69 on the NYSE.