AMR obtains $2.9 billion, including sale of $1 billion in frequent flyer miles

AMR obtains $2.9 billion in liquidity, financing

FORT WORTH, Texas — The parent of American Airlines said Thursday it has has obtained $2.9 billion in new financing and is making changes in its flight schedule to help cope with weak demand and declining revenue in the airline industry.

AMR Corp. said the extra funding includes $1 billion in cash from an advance sale of frequent flyer miles.

The carrier said it sold the frequent flyer miles to Citigroup and received an additional $280 million in cash in a loan from GE Capital Aviation Services.

The Fort Worth, Texas, company said it also received $1.6 billion in sale-leaseback financing commitments from GE Capital Aviation Services, a unit of General Electric Co., for Boeing 737s previously ordered.

AMR said it plans to strengthen its flight network by increasing capacity at hubs in Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, Miami and New York while cutting operations at St. Louis and Raleigh/Durham.

It said its capacity for 2010 is expected to increase by about 1 percent over this year.