AMR management has proposed loosening the scope clause language in its Allied Pilots Association (APA) contract as part of its plan to return to profitability following its eventual exit from bankruptcy. Language in the so-called term sheet issued to the American Airline pilots, 400 of whom face furlough as part of the plan, calls for a change in the definition of a “commuter carrier” to allow American Eagle and other regional affiliates to fly either jet or turboprop aircraft with a passenger capacity of 88 seats and an mtow as high as 114,500 pounds. Perhaps more significantly, the new clause would allow regional affiliates to fly as many as 255 jets with a passenger capacity of between 51 and 88 seats—or up to 50 percent of the total number of mainline aircraft. The maximum number of jets holding 50 seats or less allowed during any six-month period would equate to the number of narrowbody aircraft at American Airlines multiplied by 110 percent.
