Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 22, 1993 TAG: 9311220056
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Crandall said that because of the 4-day-old flight attendants' strike, the airline expects to fly only about 37 percent of its regular 2,262 daily passenger flights this week, the beginning of the busiest travel period of the year.
He said he's hopeful the situation will improve later in the week and that the airline will have at least 50 percent of its flights available by week's end.
The airline has been nearly crippled since a majority of its 21,000 flight attendants walked off the job in a contract dispute on Thursday. The union claims that about 95 percent of its members are on the picket line.
There were no signs of progress in resolving the conflict Sunday.
Crandall rejected a union proposal that the company seek President Clinton's help in ending the strike.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the union representing the striking flight attendants, held a news conference and urged the creation of an emergency presidential board to mediate its differences with the airline.
Crandall, who held a news conference of his own, dismissed the idea, saying presidential mediation boards historically have taken the middle ground in labor disputes. He said the airline cannot afford to give the flight attendants a better deal than the $100 million dollar-plus package it offered before negotiations broke off.
"At issue is American's long-term survival as an airline," Crandall said.
Denise Hedges, president of American's flight attendants' union, called Crandall's refusal "another example of his unwillingness to negotiate."
A presidential emergency board involving the airlines has not been created since the mid-1960s.
The union, which said it plans to end its strike next Monday, is seeking more than the 7.8 percent average wage increase per year being offered by the airline over the next four years. The union also is opposing changes in benefits and work rules being sought by the carrier.
The impasse does not bode well for passengers seeking to travel during the normally busy holiday period.
Crandall said American will begin contacting ticketed passengers at least 24 hours before their scheduled flights to let them know whether their flights have been canceled.
Transportation Secretary Federico Pena had reprimanded the airline Friday for failing to do an adequate job of informing its passengers of flight delays and cancellations resulting from the strike.
American will do all it can to accommodate travelers during the balance of the strike, Crandall said. However, he said, without a full schedule of flights, getting all ticketed passengers to their destinations this week will be impossible.
As a result, he said, the airline will continue to book passengers whose American flights are canceled on other airlines. Such passengers also have the option of getting a full refund or using their ticket for another American flight within the next 12 months, Crandall said.
Ticketed passengers unable to travel for any reason because of the strike between Tuesday and next Monday, will, in addition to obtaining a refund, receive a $100 voucher for use toward buying a another ticket on American during the coming year.
by CNB