AA San Juan Restructuring, Saab Retirement

American is restructuring its operations at San Juan as part of its capacity reduction efforts, and retiring American Eagle’s fleet of Saab 340s beginning in September. This round of reductions will affect American and American Eagle flights originating from San Juan to the United States and various islands in the Caribbean. The actions are part of AMR’s plans to reduce fourth quarter mainline domestic capacity by 11 percent to 12 percent compared to 2007 levels and its fourth quarter regional affiliate capacity by 10 percent to 11 percent compared to 2007. Related Story
Fourth quarter consolidated system capacity is expected to decline seven percent to eight percent year over year. To effect these changes, AMR plans to retire 40-45 mainline aircraft (mostly MD-80s and some Airbus A300s) and 35-40 regional jets. In an effort to significantly reduce costs, American Eagle also will retire its Saab fleet by the end of the year. AMR is also discontinuing Chicago-Buenos Aires September 3, Chicago-Honolulu January 5 and operate only on peak days after September 3 as well as Boston-San Diego on September 3.