] While market forces and the mechanisms of its employee
] base buffet American, it seems that Mother Nature also
] has had it in for the airline.
]
] A few days after striking the tentative deals, a severe
] storm hit near American's home in the Dallas-Fort Worth
] area. It left the cities' downtowns mostly untouched, but
] hail nearly the size of golf balls damaged 59 American
] aircraft at the DFW International Airport.
]
] "The bad news is, we had hail damage," Carty joked in a
] recent address to employees. "The good news is that
] according to the Book of Exodus, we missed the Red Sea
] and the plague of frogs. The other bad news is that we
] have locusts still to come."

We don't want to know what comes after locusts.