Gerard J. Arpey (born July 26, 1958) is the former chairman, president, and chief executive officer (CEO) of AMR Corporation, parent company to American Airlines.
Arpey had been president and chief executive officer of AMR and American, since April 2003, when he was first elected a member of the board of directors of both companies.
[4] Some airline industry analysts suggested that Arpey did long-term damage to AMR by not filing for Chapter 11 protection earlier on, something he refused to implement on moral grounds as the process of bankruptcy was intended for the purpose of decreasing pension and other financial obligations made to employees.
[5][6] Arpey declined requests by both the AMR board and Horton to stay on in some management capacity because of his unwillingness to work under a bankruptcy scenario.
Arpey made the decision to ground all American Airlines flights in Northeastern United States and then across the entire nation before the Federal Aviation Administration directive to do so.