FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- American Airlines' parent company lost $192 million in February despite slashing labor costs by 20 percent from a year ago.
The loss, however, was much narrower than in February 2012, when AMR Corp. lost $619 million just a few months after filing for bankruptcy protection.
AMR reported the February results Thursday to a federal bankruptcy court in New York. On Wednesday, the same court approved a plan for American, the nation's third-biggest airline, to merge with fifth-largest US Airways Group Inc. The merger still faces review by the U.S. Justice Department.
Fort Worth-based AMR said February revenue rose 1 percent, to $1.82 billion, and operating costs fell 2 percent.
Spending on wages, salaries and benefits — AMR's second-biggest expense after jet fuel — dropped to $470 million from $584 million, as the airline eliminated thousands of jobs.
AMR ended February with about $4 billion in unrestricted cash and short-term investments and $850 million in restricted cash, roughly the same as the month before. It ended February 2012 with more than $4.6 billion in unrestricted cash and investments and $768 million in restricted amounts.
219