NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 19, 2005--AMR Corp. (B-/Stable/--) reported a heavy fourth-quarter 2004 net loss of $387 million (including a $86 million net gain from special items). The $473 million loss before special items compares to a $127 million loss on a comparable basis in the same period of 2003, with higher fuel prices worsening the results by $477 million. Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said that its ratings and outlook on AMR and its American Airlines Inc. subsidiary (B-/Stable/--) are not affected. Ratings on both entities are one notch lower than those of the most comparable large U.S. hub-and-spoke airlines, Continental Airlines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. (both B/Negative/--), and have more room to accommodate disappointing results
