Credibility of American Airlines management diminishes as labour and operational strife mushrooms

American Airlines during the last couple of weeks has dealt with a raft of operational disruptions and labour strife that has pushed consumer confidence in the carrier to an all-time low. Management during this time has conducted itself the same way it has throughout the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process that began in Nov-2011 - in a largely aloof manner that continues to be a detriment to its credibility while US Airways waits in the wings to move forward with a merger of the two carriers.

The inability of American's management to publicly address the mounting problems provides an unexpected boon for US Airways, which has to end its public rhetoric about the benefits of the merger after signing a non-disclosure agreement in Aug-2012 that prohibits the carrier from publicly discussing the merger as the two carriers examine confidential information exchanged to undertake a deeper analysis of a possible tie-up.