Airline ETF Suffering on AMR Bankruptcy Rumor

News that AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), the parent company of American Airlines, the third-largest U.S. carrier, may need to seek bankruptcy protection is weighing on the already battered Guggenheim Airline ETF (NYSE: FAA). The Guggenheim Airline ETF is down nearly 9% on volume of just over 9,300 shares. Average daily turnover in FAA is nearly 11,000 shares.

AMR shares have slumped 62% this year, more than any other major U.S. carrier, and investors are concerned the company may burn through what cash it has on hand, Bloomberg News reported. The shares are trading at their lowest levels since March 2009.

Trading in the $24.25 area, FAA is flirting with not only its 52-week low, but also lows not seen since November 2009.

Interestingly, AMR only accounts for 3.84% of FAA's weight, tying it with Germany's Lufthansa as the ETF's eleventh-largest holding.

FAA, which made its debut in January 2009, has $17.3 million in assets under management.