American Airlines parent company AMR today said it plans to unload its American Eagle regional subsidiary next year, but has not yet determined the form of the divestiture. AMR said it is evaluating a spin-off, an outright sale or "some other form of separation from AMR."
AMR said the divestiture would give American the chance to focus on its mainline business, but likely would allow for the mainline carrier's continued use of American Eagle's regional services under "a mutually beneficial air services agreement."
American CEO Gerard Arpey in a statement today said the divestiture also would give American Eagle the chance to "provide quality feed at competitive rates to other carriers."
AMR said it already has put in place an independent management team at American Eagle and noted that the regional affiliate "has a well-formed operational structure and organization and has produced independently audited financial results for the past several years."