Business FYI: Arpey Thanks Crews for Challenging Quarter

In a note to employees Wednesday, Gerard Arpey, chairman and CEO of AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, congratulated customer-service workers and flight crews for their perseverance during a third quarter of schedule-disrupting stormy weather. AMR reported third quarter earnings of $175 million Wednesday, the company’s sixth consecutive profitable quarter.

“We had a good quarter, but as you know it was also a very challenging quarter, particularly for those of you on the front lines of the operation,” Arpey wrote. “Our planes were very full, and the difficult weather trend that marked the first two quarters of 2007 actually accelerated.

“Through the first nine months of this year, we had more than 26,000 weather-related flight cancellations. That compares to an average of 13,500 such cancellations in the first nine months of the previous four years.

“Bad weather, combined with the congested air traffic control system, created the most challenging operational environment we have seen in years.”

Arpey said that despite the flight cancellations, American’s revenue per available seat mile rose 5 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period of 2006. The revenue gains resulted from record load factors, or percentage of seats filled, of 83.9 percent, up 2.2 points from a year ago, and a 2.3 percent increase in average fares, Arpey said.

Thrifty Car Sales to open Friday in Bixby

Thrifty Car Sales, a subsidiary of Tulsa-based Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. and a retail used car dealership with 39 U.S. locations, will add a new location in Bixby on Friday, company executives said.

The new Thrifty Car Sales store is at 14780 S. Memorial Drive, where a grand opening event will begin at 1:30 p.m.

The Bixby store will be managed by franchised dealers Leonard McCullough and Mike Willis, who plan to open three additional Thrifty Car Sales locations in the Tulsa area in the next five years, officials said.

Continental ground workers file union cards

Nearly 8,000 baggage handlers and ground service workers at Houston-based Continental Airlines have filed union authorization cards with the National Mediation Board, officials say. The workers are proposing to be represented by the Transport Workers Union of America, which represents 26,000 aircraft mechanics at American Airlines.

“These workers know firsthand what happens when you go without a contract and representation,” TWU President James C. Little said in a prepared statement. “Over the past couple of years they’ve seen very deep cuts.”

In 2005, Continental ground workers’ wages were cut 10 percent, Little said. Unlike Continental’s unionized workers, he said, the ground workers were not provided with “snap backs,” which are written guarantees that lost wages would be restored as the airline returned to profitability.

Media reports about a possible acquisition of Continental by Delta Air Lines or United Airlines also increased interest in union representation, Little said. “Consolidation in the airline industry is a fact of life,” he said. ” . . . Anyone who doesn’t have a contract and a seat at the table during a merger or acquisition is destined to lose.”

BancFirst reports rise in profits

Oklahoma City-based BancFirst Corp. saw its net income increase 33 percent during the third quarter.

The bank company reported net income of $16.9 million or $1.06 diluted earnings per share for the quarter, compared with $12.7 million, or 79 cents a share, for the same quarter a year ago.

Net income for the first nine months of the year was $41.5 million, or $2.61 diluted earnings per share, compared with $35.8 million, or $2.23 a share, for the same period last year

BancFirst has 86 locations in 44 Oklahoma communities.

Fixed-rate mortgages remain unchanged

Rates on 30-year mortgages were unchanged this week while rates on other types of mortgages also showed little movement. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed- rate mortgages averaged 6.40 percent this week, the same as last week.

The nationwide average for 30-year mortgages had dipped in mid- September to 6.31 percent, the lowest level since mid-May, but have generally been trending higher since that time. Analysts attributed the flat pattern for rates this week to mixed economic reports.

Free financial seminar Saturday

An economic awareness seminar will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Beams of Light Family Church, 1704 S. Harvard Ave.

The seminar, called “The Perfect Storm: Five Economic Trends That Every American Should Be Aware Of,” will include a panel of experts including host and economics speaker Pastor Jerry Robinson, Tulsa Realtor Darryl Baskin, and Jason Reimbold, representing the petroleum industry.

For more information, call Robinson at 747-9999, or visit www.tulsaworld.com/beamsseminar.

Originally published by Bloomberg, AP and Staff Reports.

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