American Airlines is finally ready to explore its options: sale, merge, or go it alone

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300"] Tom Horton, AMR chairman, president and chief executive officer, answers questions at a Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial board meeting on Thursday, February 2, 2012, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Rodger Mallison/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT)[/caption] Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram Author: Andrea Ahles After more than seven months pushing a stand-alone restructuring plan, AMR Corp. said Tuesday that it's ready to check out merger partners. Executives with the parent company of Fort Worth-based American Airlines discussed several options, including mergers, with the airline's unsecured creditors committee Tuesday, the day the carrier reached tentative contract agreements with its mechanics and store clerks unions. "It now makes sense to carefully evaluate a range of strategic options, including potential mergers, which could make the new American even stronger," AMR Chief Executive Tom Horton told employees in a letter sent Tuesday. AMR, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, previously said it intended to emerge from bankruptcy as an independent carrier and was rebuffing overtures from other airlines, particularly US Airways, which has publicly campaigned for a takeover bid. The carrier has improved its financial performance and increased its cash balance to $5 billion from the $4 bil