The Allied Pilots union had unsuccessfully pressed American to agree that its members would handle all jets flown by American or any subsidiary.
And then it was the turn of a jet flown by a Brazilian airline with a notoriously poor safety record.
The design cues for the plane were inspired by the military jets flown by the Air Force over the years.
Though the T-34 is much slower than the jets flown by military teams, the turn rates are over double those of the F-16 and F/A-18.
One jet, flown by the pilot who appeared to be the leader, was painted entirely in shiny black, with a hideous looking laughing shark's face on its snout.
Of the 59 gates at the new terminal, 41 will be for large jets and 18 will be for smaller jets flown primarily by American's subsidiary, American Eagle.
One is the kind of jet flown by Capt. Manuel Rivera Jr., a Bronx native killed in the Persian Gulf war.
Mr. Gangwal's wants to have an additional 60 of the jets flown by the airline's main pilots at pay rates lower than what they now earn flying larger aircraft.
The Major airline agreed with their pilots' union to limit the number of jets flown by their affiliates.
Other cuts will be made by reducing the number of flights between destinations and by replacing United's big jets with smaller regional jets flown by its commuter affiliates.