DALLAS -- American Airlines says it now has clearance from federal aviation officials to return all of its 300 grounded jets to service.

A spokesman says after 200 cancellations Saturday morning, American is running a full schedule with no cancellations.

Starting last Tuesday, the nation's largest airline canceled nearly 3,300 flights, as it grounded 300 MD-80 jets to wrap wiring bundles to meet federal safety standards.

The cancellations stranded hundreds of thousands of people during the week.

The chairman and chief executive of American parent AMR Corporation said the costs of the cancellations to American will run into the tens of millions of dollars.

Gerard Arpey said that neither American's mechanics nor the FAA were to blame for the groundings, and that he takes responsibility for the cancellations. He said the company will hire a consultant to help it comply with FAA safety rules in the future.

Passengers were not the only one upset over the situation. Flight attendants have renewed a campaigned against stock bonuses for top American executives and the pilots union took out full-page newspaper ads asking, "Why is American Airlines Failing Its Customers?"

Scott Shankland, a first captain and spokesman for the union, said the ad was intended as a wake-up call for American's leaders. He said the MD-80s were safe, but "the cushion that keeps you safe is smaller" because of cutbacks to maintenance.

"This management team is driving reliability down to a point where it will drive customers away," Shankland said. "These guys are damaging this once-great airline."

The backup began Tuesday when American was forced to take 300 planes out of service. It had to make sure wires were properly bundled to prevent rubbing that could a catastrophic short.

The groundings came as a surprise. American officials said they thought they had completed the needed repair work two weeks ago, when it scrubbed 400 flights. But the FAA said the wiring had not been secured and stowed properly.

Arpey is taking the blame for the incident and said the company will hire a consultant to ensure future government compliance.

"We regret and apologize that we are once again causing inconvenience to our customers, but we will continue to work in good faith until we satisfy all of the technical issues related to this airworthiness directive," Arpey said.

American's entire fleet averages 15 years in age, the second oldest in the industry behind Northwest Airlines, according to regulatory filings by the airlines.

Arpey said Thursday that American may accelerate the replacement of its MD-80s, but only because newer planes get better mileage, an important consideration with fuel at record prices. The CEO pointedly said the recent groundings were not a factor in the decision to replace MD-80s.

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