NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, now in its third year of contract talks with its pilots union, is frustrated with the pace and depth of the negotiations, the carrier's lead labour executive said.

The Allied Pilots Association, which represents the airline's 12,000 pilots, and American need to spend more time working to close the gaps between their proposals, senior vice-president Jeff Brundage said in an interview yesterday.

"We are frustrated with both the pace of negotiations and with the dialogue at the table," Brundage said. "We don't believe that we are spending enough time really exploring alternatives to either our proposals or their proposals."

His comments underscored the divide between pilots and Fort Worth, Texas-based American. Since talks began in September 2006, the two sides separately have clashed over work rules for flights to China, a whistle-blower program for pilots and a pending alliance with British Airways Plc and Spain's Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA.