The Association of Professional Flight Attendants' eight-member executive committee voted unanimously late on Thursday to send the plan to members for a vote, union spokesman Anthony DeMaio said on Friday.

American's parent, AMR Corp, declared bankruptcy in November, citing untenable labor costs, and had been mired in unsuccessful negotiations for concessions from its three primary unions. Earlier this year, AMR asked a bankruptcy court for permission to ditch its labor contracts and impose stricter, interim terms unilaterally as long-term negotiations carried on.

But Judge Sean Lane, of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, has not yet had to rule on that request, and may not have to issue a ruling at all if the company can reach consensual deals with its labor factions.

Five of AMR's seven ground workers' union groups recently accepted a new deal, with the other two scheduled to vote on one. AMR's pilots union agreed last month to send a contract to its members for a vote.

has postponed his ruling once, agreeing last month to hold off until at least August 8 to give the pilots' union a chance to conduct its voting process.

The flight attendants' union will vote by August 19, DeMaio said. has not said whether he will again delay his ruling, but has said in court hearings he would prefer to let the parties hash out their contract disputes consensually.

"The parties intend to notify the court of the developments with APFA," AMR spokesman Bruce Hicks said on Friday.

In a letter to union members, APFA President Laura Glading said union leaders will visit members throughout the country to "circulate as much information as possible" about the deal. Glading admitted the deal is "far from the agreement wanted," but serves as a "substantial" improvement over the terms AMR might have otherwise imposed.

AMR initially was seeking $1.25 billion in annual labor concessions through bankruptcy, including $990 million a year from its unions. Those figures may decrease if the unions accept AMR's latest offers, which lower cost saving targets from 20 percent to 17 percent.

"We're pleased our flight attendants will have an opportunity to review and vote on this final offer, and are eager to move forward to the next phase of our restructuring," Hicks said in a statement on Friday.

With its labor situation closer to resolution, AMR and its creditors are focusing on how the airline will emerge from bankruptcy and whether it may merge with competitor US Airways Group (LCC.N), which is making an aggressive play to acquire the airline.

US Airways has gained the support of AMR's labor unions on a merger. They have said a merger could save more than 6,000 jobs that could be lost if AMR exits bankruptcy independently.

The case is In re AMR Corp et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-15463.

(Reporting by Nick Brown)

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