American Airlines raises $2.9 billion, shifts flight capacity

AMR Corporation (AMR), American Airlines' parent company, said today it has raised $2.9 billion from partners Citigroup (C) and General Electric (GE). And boy, does Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR need that money.

Challenges from swine flu fears to high fuel costs to a global recession have put the entire airline industry in direstraits, and AMR is in rough shape. It lost $390 million in the second quarter of 2009, an improvement over the $1.5 billion it lost in that quarter in 2008 (both numbers include extraordinary items).