American Air leaders bet $2.4m on shares after 2019 rout

American Airlines’ top six executives purchased an extra 85,000 shares, paying a combined $2.37m after the company posted this year’s biggest drop among major US carriers. CEO Doug Parker paid $1.4m for 50,000 shares, while President Robert Isom bought 15,000 at a cost of $416,250, according to regulatory filings Tuesday. The four remaining executives, including CCFO Derek Kerr, took 5,000 each for as much as $138,800. “These share purchases are not part of our compensation package,” the executives said in a message to employees. “They were purchased solely because of the value we see in American today and over time.” The purchases were the first such coordinated action by American’s top executives, said spokesman Matt Miller. Parker chose in 2015 to give up the cash portion of his compensation and be paid only in stock. The shares have dropped 43% since then, and the CEO has repeatedly said American is undervalued. His latest open-market purchase was the biggest for an insider at the carrier in at least 10 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.<br/>