AMR Bankruptcy Deals ‘Blow’ to Region Airline Put on the Map

By Mike Lee

The bankruptcy of American Airlines parent AMR Corp. deals a blow to the Dallas-Fort Worth region of Texas, a community whose identity and fortunes have been tied to the company and aviation for more than 80 years.

American Airlines is the second-biggest employer in the region, with more than 20,000 of its 80,000 workers based there, and has had a presence in Dallas-Fort Worth since 1929. About one in six jobs in the region is related to transportation, trade or airlines, including American and Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co., according to the North Texas Commission...

“We’ll probably see some cuts in wages and benefits for local workers and that’ll ripple through the economy,” said Bernard Weinstein, an economist at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business in Dallas.