American Airlines chief quits

Donald Carty, the chairman and chief executive of American Airlines resigned as negotiators for the world’s largest carrier and two of its unions reached a tentative cost-cutting deal that was the airline’s last hope for avoiding bankruptcy.

The flight attendants’ union, however, was split bitterly over the company’s £1.2bn (€1.73bn) increased pay and benefits offer, which improves potential bonuses for employees and shortens the length of concessions by one year to five years.

The company said it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York unless all three unions accepted the pay offer.