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American Airlines Cancels 15 Roundtrips
ST. LOUIS, (PRNewswire) September 30, 2005 - The skyrocketing price of jet fuel has forced American Airlines to take the regretful step of temporarily canceling 15 roundtrips in markets the airline serves from its two largest hub airports, Chicago O'Hare and DFW International.

All of the cancellations will take place beginning Oct. 5 and lasting through Oct. 29. American will monitor jet fuel prices and evaluate the potential to reimplement service after that time.

The reductions will take place in markets where American will retain a number of roundtrips.

"Jet fuel prices have been rising even faster than crude oil prices for the last year, but it was the 39 percent rise in jet fuel costs in the last month alone that pushed us to make this decision," said Dan Garton, Executive Vice President. "We have made incredible progress in lowering our operational costs for over two years now. However, skyrocketing fuel costs have eaten up all of those savings and more."

Jet fuel was 91 percent more expensive yesterday than in September 2004, while crude oil had risen 45 percent in the same period. The cost of a barrel of jet fuel has risen from over $78 at the end of August -- before hurricanes Katrina and Rita disrupted production and refining of crude oil -- to over $109 per barrel.

Garton said, "This is a tough decision that we never wanted to have to make. We know our customers have seen their own gasoline costs rise, and we hope they will understand that it is no longer economically viable for American to maintain the current level of convenient service in those markets given our current fuel cost."

Hurricane Katrina and Higher Gas Prices Cloud Holiday Spending Outlook
ST. LOUIS, (PRNewswire) September 20, 2005 - The damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, coupled with higher gas prices, is expected to contribute to an increasingly difficult outlook for certain retailers as the holiday season approaches, according to Deloitte Research's Leading Index of Consumer Spending.

Amidst weakening home prices, a rising tax burden and slow job growth, rising inflation and Katrina could trigger heightened challenges for consumer spending through the end of 2005.

In an announcement, Carl Steidtmann, chief economist of Deloitte Research and author of the monthly index, said, "Retailers face hurdles in the coming months. A natural disaster of this magnitude will almost certainly have a negative impact on consumer spending in the short run, and will likely hurt some retail segments during the upcoming holiday season."

"However, we can anticipate an upturn in consumer spending in communities to which storm victims are migrating, such as Houston and Baton Rouge," continued Steidtmann. "As rebuilding efforts begin, we should see a boost in sales of home-related goods and building materials, as well as basic clothing and kitchen goods."

"With the current level of uncertainty surrounding the consumer's ability to spend, retailers need to continue to be vigilant about their inventory levels, costs, and effective promotional strategies," said Pat Conroy, vice chairman and national managing principal of Deloitte's Consumer Business practice. "They must also increase their focus on converting consumers they have attracted into their stores into buyers. Finding better ways to positively impact these conversion rates will be a critical element to retailers' success this upcoming season."

Deloitte's Consumer Business practice plans to release its 20th Anniversary Deloitte Holiday Survey on November 1, 2005.

Highlights of the index, which tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending, include:

Federal, state and local tax revenues are rising and will continue to climb outside of the hurricane-ravaged Gulf region. However, it may not be enough to keep deficit estimates falling given likely substantial government spending on disaster relief.
Initial unemployment claims fell slightly in August and are still below 2004 levels. The temporary loss of employment in the Gulf region will reduce overall job growth in the short run.
Real wages continue to decline at a slow pace. The sharp rise in gasoline and home heating prices will hurt consumer purchasing power in the fall and winter months ahead.
Real new home prices fell again in the month of July and are down slightly from 2004 levels. After posting large gains last year, real home prices have slowed sharply, contributing significantly to the slowdown in the Deloitte Research index.

The index, comprising four components -- tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices -- fell in August to 3.79 percent, from an upwardly revised 3.86 percent in July.

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