The parent company of American Airlines filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday, citing overwhelming debt due expensive labor contracts and rising fuel costs.

AMR Corp, the owner of American, continues to lose money.

The company was the only airline not to file bankruptcy protection after 9/11 served a major blow to the airline industry.

Those bankruptcy filings allowed competitors to relieve some of their debt by shedding costly labor contracts. Now, American is falling behind.

In 2008, American was the largest airline in the world. Now, the airline has been surpassed by the United-Continental and Delta-Northwest mergers.

American will operate normally while AMR reorganizes during the bankruptcy process.