American Airlines
released the following statement today regarding an announcement by the
Department of Justice concerning a consent decree: American Airlines has settled a technical dispute with the Department of
Justice relating to a 1994 consent decree, without admission of
wrongdoing. The 1994 consent decree arose from a lawsuit that the
government filed against American and other carriers in 1992. The carriers
settled that dispute, also without admission of wrongdoing, and that
settlement was approved and adopted in the 1994 decree.

The most recent dispute with the government concerned a change American
made in 2002 to purchase requirements on select fares. The government
alleged that these changes were made in a manner that violated certain
technical provisions of the 1994 consent decree.

Although American disagreed with the government’s interpretation of the
consent decree and the facts, it elected to resolve the matter, rather
than engage in lengthy and costly litigation with the government.

“We are pleased to have resolved this dispute with the government,” stated
Gary Kennedy, American’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel.
“Although we disagreed with the government’s position, we did not view it
to be in the company’s best interest to engage in a contentious legal
battle with the government. This settlement will allow the company to
remain focused on doing what is necessary to succeed in the fiercely
competitive airline industry.”
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