American Airlines (AA) filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday.

American Airlines flies to Rome Fiumicino (FCO) and Milan Malpensa (MXP) and other destinations in Italy through their codeshare partners.

The bankruptcy should not affect their flight operations, as many US airlines recently have filed for bankruptcy protection and are still operating such as Delta Airlines and United Airlines.  It is a business move they do not want to undertake, but they do it to restructure their contracts to more favorable terms.  In fact, prior to yesterday, they were one of the few major airlines in the United States (along with Southwest Airlines and JetBlue) to not have filed for bankruptcy protection.

Here is a quote that appears on their site

"American Airlines is flying normal schedules and conducting business as usual worldwide."

They will honor all their flights and it should not affect their frequent-flyer miles.

What will happen to airline prices to Italy?

The perceived negativity may decrease demand for their flights, which may put some downward pressure on prices.

Eventually, they will probably scale-back the number of flights, especially the unprofitable routes.  Should that happen, you can expect fares to increase due to the decreased supply.

Worse-case scenario for American Airlines

I expect the airline to continue operating one year from now, three years from now, etc.  However, if they are not able to restructure their contracts to more favorable terms, and cease operations, you will be protected for any tickets purchased as long as you use a credit card.

Phone numbers for AA - English 1-800-433-7300 / En Espanol 1-800-633-3711