April 11 (Bloomberg) -- AMR Corp.'s American Airlines canceled 595 more flights today, the fourth day of travel disruptions caused by grounding its Boeing Co. MD-80 jets to inspect and repair wiring.

About 200 flights were scrubbed for tomorrow, and operations should return to normal on April 13, American said in a statement. Through today, this week's cancellations totaled 3,082, with about 338,000 passengers stranded.

The steps toward a regular schedule reflected American's progress in rechecking its 300 MD-80s, with 231 back in service late today. Fixing planes and compensating travelers will cost ``tens of millions of dollars,'' American said yesterday.

``When you cancel 45 percent of your flights, you're going to lose passengers to your competitors and your costs are going to go up,'' James M. Higgins, a Soleil Securities Corp. analyst, said in an interview. ``I don't think it has any long-term effect. There's this flurry of activity, and then it will pass.''

Chief Executive Officer Gerard Arpey said winning travelers' confidence again ``will not be easy'' after the cancellations linked to the MD-80s, which account for 46 percent of American's fleet.

``There is no sugarcoating the fact that we are going to have to earn back the trust of the customers we disappointed in recent days,'' Arpey said in a message to employees. He added: ``I know we can do it.''

AMR fell 39 cents, or 4 percent, to $9.48 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange trading. Higgins, who's based in Solebury, Pennsylvania, rates AMR shares ``hold.''

Spot Checks

American parked the planes after Federal Aviation Administration spot checks found that wiring bundles in the jets' wheel wells didn't comply with an FAA order, even after inspections of the MD-80 fleet for the same issue in March.

The original FAA order specifying how the wiring bundles had to be covered and secured noted the danger of shorting or arcing, possibly resulting in a fire. A blaze might spark an explosion in fuel tanks in the wings, the FAA said.

American's MD-80s have two engines, can seat 140 passengers and are used mostly on domestic routes. They're also safe, Arpey said yesterday. ``I put my kids on these airplanes all the time.''

American hired an outside consultant to review its compliance with FAA directives and is conducting an internal investigation. No changes in maintenance personnel are planned ``at this point,'' said Roger Frizzell, American's vice president of corporate communications.

Vouchers, Refunds

Customers booked on canceled flights may request a refund, and those stranded overnight can seek a $500 voucher toward future flights, American said. Those with flight reservations through tomorrow can rebook without charge. The airline is paying for hotel stays for passengers stuck overnight.

``This would be a big item normally, but in the age when oil is jumping $10 a barrel in one week and you have an uncertain economy, this is really on the back burner as far as serious cost items go,'' Ray Neidl, a New York-based analyst at Calyon Securities Inc., said in an interview.

``Whatever it might cost them during this ordeal could be completely reversed very easily if oil went down $10 a barrel,'' he added.

Falling short of FAA requirements for the wiring adjustments earlier meant that American didn't have the option of parking some jets on a rotating basis while flying others, Arpey has said. American checked all the MD-80s in March in response to the FAA order, resulting in groundings and hundreds of scrapped flights.

Bush's View

President George W. Bush is aware that travelers are under a ``great strain'' from this week's cancellations, and ``those are certainly concerns that we share,'' White House spokesman Scott Stanzel told reporters today in Crawford, Texas. ``But we also share safety concerns.''

Bush will be briefed on ``the situation in the airline industry'' at a Cabinet meeting on April 14, Stanzel said.

Midwest Air Group Inc. grounded its 13 MD-80s for inspections and canceled 14 flights yesterday. The airline returned to a full flight schedule today after inspecting and making ``minor adjustments'' on some of the planes, spokesman Michael Brophy said. MD-80s make up 34 percent of Midwest's fleet.

Alaska Air Group Inc. operated a full schedule today after returning eight of its nine MD-80s to service, spokesman Paul McElroy said. One is undergoing unrelated maintenance, he said.

Delta Air Lines Inc. returned to a full schedule yesterday after checking its 117 MD-88s, a member of the MD-80 family, spokeswoman Betsy Talton said. Some of the planes needed repairs, said Talton, adding that Delta canceled a ``handful'' of flights earlier this week.

To contact the reporters on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 11, 2008 19:29 EDT