Airline pushes for 'trusted traveler' program

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The head of American Airlines' parent company said Thursday it is time to get moving on what he called a "trusted traveler" program to help frequent flyers, government employees and selected others get through airport security more quickly.

Donald Carty, AMR chairman and chief executive officer, acknowledged in comments to the National Press Club that the Department of Transportation was close to hitting its goal of cutting the occasional long wait time to get through airport security screening down to 10 minutes or less.

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Nevertheless, he said, "I think we ought to launch a trusted traveler program immediately."

One system under consideration would involve people who pass through a personal investigation and could then get an identification card that could ease them through security, he said.

Another system involved intelligence gathering that could flag a passenger with a questionable history while letting others go through.

Regardless of which system is eventually used, Carty said, "We need to find a way to accelerate the non-threats through the airports so we can concentrate the security resource on the real threats."

But while things are looking up for passengers with ticket prices down and reliability up, Carty noted the short-term financial outlook for airlines remains a difficult one.

He said that when second quarter earnings reports for the airlines are released next week, "the most positive thing I can say about the losses you're likely to see is -- at least in the wake of the accounting scandals we've seen recently -- you can have utter confidence in the airlines reported results because nobody in their right mind would make up numbers like this."

Mixed into the airline's financial difficulties are some complicated and prolonged contracted negotiations with its unionized pilots.

The Allied Pilots Association, the collective bargaining agent for American Airlines pilots, suggested that management has little incentive to negotiate because its pilot salary costs are much lower than rival United Airlines' pilots.

Negotiations began last summer but were put off in the wake of the September 11 attacks. A federal mediator was recently assigned to the case.