FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The parent of American Airlines says it will take a charge of $713 million against 2011 results to write down the value of some of its planes and other assets.
The company, which filed for bankruptcy protection in November, announced the move in a regulatory filing Monday.
AMR hopes to buy 460 new planes from Boeing and Airbus. The bankruptcy court in New York hasn't approved those deals but will let American continue to accept delivery of aircraft already ordered through 2012.
The company says that in connection with its fleet-update plan, it judged the useful lives of some of its planes including McDonnell Douglas MD-80s, Boeing 757s and Boeing 767s. It decided that the value of the Boeing 757s it uses on U.S. routes was overstated, and it will take a charge to write down those and other durable assets to estimated fair values.
According to its website, American had 124 Boeing 757 jets in December 2010, or one-seventh of its fleet. They have an average age of 17 years.
The $713 million is an accounting charge but is not paid in cash.
AMR is expected to release fourth-quarter and final 2011 results in mid-February. It lost $884 million in the first three quarters, and analysts had expected that total to rise to about $1.2 billion for the full year.
