Well I know this is not really travel related but it does have to do with travel industry Today I bought 300 shares of AMR at $3.80. I was wondering if anyone else has done so. I am using money that is usually reserved for shopping (in other words money I would have spent on "disposable items"). Anyway I am going to hold for long term and see what happens. If I lose it I lose it. Anyway I thought it would be fun to post to see if anyone else had taken advantage of lower prices.

What were your reasons for buying AMR stock? Good projected earnings? Good management? What? Why?

What is AMR?

Here is my thinking...I used to work for them. I quit last year. I liked working. The US economy whether we realize it or not greatly depends on airlines to move people and goods. It would not be in the best interest of the US economy if the "majors" fail. If there is to be failure I would bet that American would not be one to go under. I know that if there is a US invasion on Iraq the airlines will hurt. I am going to hold my stock for the longterm. Perhaps my reasons seem rather unorthodox but then again I invested with my shopping money. If I lose I lose...

Sorry AMR is symbol for American Airlines.

Since you used to work for AA, did you let sentimentality get in the way of business sense? I would have invested in LUV (Southwest Airlines) instead. Just my 2c worth. The big airlines have to be all things to all people (local, national, international). Southwest has carved out a specific niche and been very profitable at it, no matter what you think of them. Only airline to post a profit last year.

I used to work for AA as well. Right after 9/11 I bought 100 at $18 and thought I was getting a good deal. Oh well! At least I'm a long way from retirement so maybe it will go back up in the next 25 years.

My guess is there are about a dozen flyers you could take (AMR among them). Most will probably make it in the long run. How well a company does has little to do with it unless it goes under. It's how well the universe thinks it will do in the short/medium term.<BR><BR>Way back in those days I bought a bit of Pan Am. The thinking was at that price the down-side is very limited. You buy $1,000. and the most you can lose is that. If things work out, you can make many times. We doubled on Pan Am (put in little and got back double a little) before it eventually went out.<BR><BR>What about others like Nortel, Ciena, etc?<BR>

When the NASDAQ fell to 3600, I was in London and spent an entire day trying to reach my broker to buy in. I thought it was the bargain of the century.<BR><BR>GK

I have info that AMR is about to tank.

I hope Arthur Andersen weren't their auditors or you could be in trouble.

JetBlue (JBLU) & Ryan Air (RYAAY) are the only 2 companies that are holding up in this disasterous market.<BR><BR>But then again this is not a stock forum but a travel forum.

If the majors fail across this country I do not think people realize how it will hurt the economy. The airlines move a lot of cargo (US Postal Service being one of the top customers). I think if there is a war with Iraq it becomes very clear that airlines would suffer. The higher cost of fuel will definitely hurt the airlines. Also if there is a war passenger travel will decrease. Southwest is good but stock price is overvalued. Just my two cents.<BR>

You might have gotten a nice short term gain on this. AMR closed up 16.6% today based on analysts expectations of further expense cuts at the airline. I'd be think about pocketing a portion of my gain by selling into broader market gains. (The retailers can sure use the money.)<BR><BR>Personally, I stay away from airlines. IMHO there are just to many uncontrollable variables that can impact them. Fuel prices, wars, pricing fights, etc. Not to mention the high union workforce levels. <BR><BR>Even if I wasn't biased against airlines, I'd still think it may be a bit early for an AMR investment. The economy is still weak which means a pickup in business travel is not imminent, fuel prices are more likely to rise than to fall, and a war with Iraq is a real possibility. Of course, all of this should already be factored in the price. The question I'd ask then is when is some real upside, i.e. positive news, a possibility. <BR><BR>For me, I could see the upside being 6,12, 18 months away. I'd be reluctant to sit on stagnant money by holding AMR shares to far ahead of a sustainable improvement in business conditions.