By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX – American Airlines is recalling about 800 furloughed employees, about 1 percent of its work force, as it adds flights on international routes.
CEO Gerard Arpey announced the jobs as American launched a new trans-Atlantic business with British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia. American is working on a similar alliance with Japan Airlines across the Pacific.
American will recall 250 pilots starting in November and 545 flight attendants starting this month. The airline last recalled pilots in 2009 and flight attendants in 2008.
The moves will reduce the number of furloughed pilots at American to about 1,730 and out-of-work flight attendants to 805, the company said. American has 73,000 employees, including 7,800 pilots and 14,755, according to a spokesman.
American Airlines President Thomas Horton said the recalls were partly the result of increased international flying, especially out of New York's Kennedy Airport.
Traffic on American Airlines rose 5.6 percent last month compared with September 2009. The biggest increases were on international routes.
Texas Poll Shows Perry Leading White
The nonpartisan Texas Lyceum poll shows that Republican Gov. Rick Perry is leading Democrat Bill White with 48 percent support among likely voters to White's 43 percent.
The telephone poll was released Wednesday. It surveyed 416 likely voters. The pollsters found that most Texans have made up their minds in the race for governor. Only 3 percent were undecided.
While White has the edge among voters who say they are moderates or independents, Perry has a significant lead among conservatives.
The poll was conducted Sept. 22-30. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.75 percentage points.
First Baptist plans implosions in downtown Dallas
First Baptist in Dallas plans to implode several buildings near its historic downtown church as part of a $115 million expansion project.
Church officials said Tuesday four buildings would come down Oct. 30. Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert will be among those attending the event.
The implosions are part of a major overhaul for the campus of one of the nation's largest Southern Baptist Convention congregations, numbering about 11,000.
The plan includes a 3,000-seat worship center, a new education building more parking and a sky bridge that will link parts of the campus.
Church officials say the $115 million pledge is the most for a Protestant church building project in the U.S.
County GOP reports millions for doughnuts
Republicans must love doughnuts - or so it would seem from a glance at the latest finance report filed by the Republican Party of a suburban Austin county.
But Williamson County Republican Party officials say it's only by a clerical foul-up that it reported spending $5,272,010 at Round Rock Donuts on Sept. 20 and $9,082,010 at Applebee's restaurant in Georgetown on Sept. 8.
Party Treasurer Jon Jewett said that in the Applebee's case, the date was entered as expenditure. He told the Austin American-Statesman the party dropped about $60 that time. He said he doesn't know how the mess-up happened with the doughnut expenditure, which he said should have been $13.99.
Jewett said he'll file a corrected report with the Texas Ethics Commission.