American adding international flights

By Andrea Ahles

aahles@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH -- American Airlines announced new international flights Wednesday, including service from Dallas/Fort Worth Airport to Lima, Peru, and Seoul, South Korea, starting next spring -- another sign of improving operations.

The international expansion is part of the Fort Worth-based carrier's plans to grow by 20 percent over the next five years after it exits bankruptcy.

The growth could lead to the hiring and recall of 2,500 pilots over the next five years, American CEO Tom Horton told employees.

"As we further diversify our network, the new American will be doing even more international flying, providing greater opportunities for career advancement and increased income for our people," Horton wrote in a letter sent out Wednesday morning.

"As part of our plans, we expect to hire at least 1,500 new flight attendants over the next year and create approximately 2,500 new and recalled pilot jobs over five years, which we think will lead to about 1,300 Captain upgrades."

The carrier had disclosed its long-term plan to add the pilot jobs in a June memo from John Hale, its vice president of flight.

Last week, American said it will start hiring 1,500 flight attendants in November, partly to offset the 2,200 who accepted a buyout offer.

Since American has not said when it may hire more pilots, the Allied Pilots Association said it is waiting to see whether the rhetoric turns into real jobs.

"Our focus right now is on securing an industry-standard contract that our membership can vote on," said spokesman Gregg Overman, adding that negotiations continue between American and its pilots union. "If it comes to pass, it certainly beats the alternative.

"But you also have to keep in mind we still have hundreds of pilots on furlough and we will be retiring some pilots over the same period of time. So the net gain of jobs will be much less."

About 650 pilots are on furlough.

American said it has 491 pilots who are over 60 and will need to retire within five years when they reach the Federal Aviation Administration's mandatory retirement age of 65.

The company expects to create 1,500 pilot jobs and to replace 1,000 others lost through retirement and attrition.

The new flight service announced Wednesday will enhance American's international network and strengthen its joint business agreements, the carrier said.

"One of our goals has been to increase the mix of our international flying and diversify our portfolio," said Virasb Vahidi, American's chief commercial officer, adding that "we want to offer service to the markets that are the most important to our business and high-value customers."

Vahidi would not disclose American's 2013 capacity plan as the carrier finalizes its schedule for next year.

He said the aircraft used on the new international service will come from routes that the carrier has ended, such as to New Delhi and Brussels, and from routes where American will use its new Boeing 777-300s, which it will start receiving this year.

"We've been reoptimizing our network and reallocating our assets," Vahidi said.

The planned international service includes:

DFW to Lima, Peru: Daily flights starting April 2 using a Boeing 757.

DFW to Seoul, South Korea: Daily flights starting May 9 using a Boeing 777-200.

Chicago O'Hare to Dusseldorf, Germany: Daily flights starting April 11, subject to government approval, using a Boeing 767-300.

New York's Kennedy Airport to Dublin: Daily flights starting June 12, subject to government approval, using a Boeing 757-200.

American also announced new domestic service.

It plans to fly between DFW and Beaumont, Fargo, N.D., and Columbia, Mo. American will also add service between Chicago O'Hare and Columbia, Mo.

The flights to Columbia, Mo., will be flown by American Eagle, and the Beaumont and Fargo flights will be operated by ExpressJet under its new regional carrier agreement, Vahidi said.

Andrea Ahles, 817-390-7631

Twitter: @Sky_Talk

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