Satisfactory liquidity, with $4.1 billion of unrestricted cash and short-term investments as of Sept. 30, 2009; and Second-largest U.S. airline, with substantial market positions in the domestic market, U.S.-U.K. routes, and U.S.-Latin America routes. Participation in the cyclical, price-competitive, and capital-intensive airline industry; Near-term pressure on earnings due to weak economic environment; Overall debt and lease burden remains substantial, with a heavy unfunded retiree liability, resulting in a highly leveraged financial profile; Highest labor costs among U.S. airlines, with pressure from unions to increase compensation, representing a competitive disadvantage against peer airlines that restructured in bankruptcy and low-cost airlines; and A large (albeit declining, as the company continues to take delivery of Boeing 737-800 aircraft) portion of American's narrow-body fleet
