In Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma, all eyes in the aerospace industry will be on AMR Corp.'s bankruptcy case in 2012.
AMR, the parent of American Airlines, filed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization petition Nov. 29. The petition was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan after the company posted $12 billion in losses over the previous decade.
American employs 7,000 people at its Maintenance & Engineering Center at Tulsa International Airport, and its economic impact on the region is $6 billion annually, the Tulsa Metro Chamber says.
The repercussions on the region of a smaller airline could be devastating, officials say.
Despite the area's diverse economy and relative prosperity, you don't replace an American Airlines, which established the Tulsa M&E base in 1946, with a few retail, energy or high-tech companies.
Significant layoffs, downsizing of maintenance operations, pay or benefit cuts in Tulsa would have multiple spin-off effects on the area's employment, economy, housing, schools, transportation and infrastructure, city officials say.
Some airline industry analysts believe American's maintenance operations will be reduced significantly to cut costs: Outsourcing maintenance is cheaper, they say.
Officials at the Transport Workers Union, which represents more than 11,000 American mechanics and related work groups, said American executives in recent months have toured commercial aircraft maintenance facilities in South America.
American officials declined comment on the reports or the company's course in bankruptcy in 2012.
American spokesman Ed Martelle, however, said the company has made key moves to strengthen its competitive position.
It has established "cornerstone" hubs in the top business markets of Chicago, New York, Miami, Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles.
It forged joint business agreements with major foreign carriers, and it agreed to a $38 billion 460-aircraft deal with Boeing and Airbus SAS that will give it the youngest and most fuel efficient fleet
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