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American Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
AA AAL AMERICAN
Founded1930 (as American Airways)
HubsDallas-Fort Worth International Airport
O'Hare International Airport
Miami International Airport
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport
Focus citiesJohn F. Kennedy International Airport
LaGuardia Airport
Logan International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Raleigh-Durham International Airport
Frequent-flyer programAAdvantage
AllianceOneworld
Fleet size652 (+48 orders)
Destinations158
Parent companyAMR Corporation
HeadquartersFort Worth, Texas
Key peopleGerard Arpey (CEO)
Tom Horton (CFO)
Websitehttp://www.aa.com/

American Airlines (AA) is the largest airline in the world in terms of total passengers-miles transported[1] and fleet size [2], and the second-largest airline in the world (behind Air France-KLM) in terms of total operating revenues[3]. A wholly owned subsidiary of the AMR Corporation, the airline is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, adjacent to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. American operates scheduled flights throughout the United States, as well as flights to Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Western Europe, Japan, China, and India. The Chairman, President, and CEO of AA is Gerard Arpey. In 2005, the airline flew more than 138 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs).

As of February 2007, American serves 157 cities (excluding codeshares with partner airlines) with a fleet of 670 aircraft. American carries more passengers between the US and Latin America (12.1 million in 2004) than any other airline, and is also strong in the transcontinental market.

American has five hubs: Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Chicago (ORD), Miami (MIA), Saint Louis (STL), and San Juan (SJU). Dallas/Fort Worth is the airline's largest hub, with AA operating over 84 percent of flights at the airport and traveling to more destinations than from any of its other hubs. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and New York City (JFK) serve as focus cities and international gateways. American operates maintenance bases at Tulsa (TUL), Kansas City (MCI), and Fort Worth Alliance (AFW).

American Eagle Airlines is a Fort Worth, Texas-based regional airline partner of American Airlines, wholly owned by AMR Corporation.

American Airlines is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.

History

Formation

American Airlines was developed from a conglomeration of about 82 small airlines through a series of corporate acquisitions and reorganizations: initially, the name American Airways was used as a common brand by a number of independent air carriers. These included Southern Air Transport in Texas, Southern Air Fast Express (SAFE) in the western US, Universal Aviation in the Midwest (which operated a transcontinental air/rail route in 1929), and Colonial Air Transport in the Northeast.

Airbus A300

On January 25, 1930, American Airways was incorporated as a single company, with routes from Boston, New York and Chicago, Illinois to Dallas, and a route from Dallas to Los Angeles. The airline operated its routes with wood and fabric covered Fokker Trimotors and all metal Ford Trimotors. In 1934 American began flying Curtiss Condor biplanes fitted with sleeping berths.

American Airlines before World War II

Boeing 767

In 1934, American Airways Company was acquired by E.L. Cord, who renamed the company "American Air Lines". Cord hired Texas businessman C.R. (Cyrus Rowlett) Smith to run the company. Early in its history, the company was headquartered at Chicago Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois.

Smith worked closely with Donald Douglas to develop the DC-3, which American Airlines started flying in 1936. With the DC-3, American began to brand itself using nautical terms, calling its aircraft "Flagships" and establishing the "Admirals Club", an honorary club for valued passengers. The DC-3s had a four-star "admiral's pennant" which would fly outside the cockpit window while the aircraft was parked, one of the most well-known images of the airline at the time.

American was the first airline to cooperate with Fiorello LaGuardia's plans to build an airport in New York City, and partly as a result became the owner of the world's first airline lounge at the new LaGuardia Airport (LGA), which became known as the "Admirals Club." Membership was initially by invitation only, but a discrimination suit decades later changed the club into a paid membership club, creating the model for other airline lounges.

Postwar developments

Boeing 707 freighter of American at Basle in 1976

After World War II, American launched an international subsidiary, American Overseas Airlines to serve Europe; however, AOA was sold to rival Pan Am in 1950. AA launched another subsidiary around the same time, Líneas Aéreas Americanas de Mexico S.A., to operate flights to Mexico, and built several airports there.

American Airlines was an early adopter of jet aircraft, and introduced the first transcontinental jet service using Boeing 707s on 25 January 1959. With the introduction of its "Astrojets", as it dubbed the new jet fleet, American's focus shifted to nonstop coast-to-coast flights, although it maintained feeder connections to other cities along its old route using smaller Convair 990s and Lockheed Electras. American invested $440 million in jet aircraft up to 1962, launched the first electronic booking system (Sabre) together with IBM, and built an upgraded terminal at Idlewild (now JFK) Airport in New York City which became the airline's largest base of operations.[4]

Boeing 777-223ER landing at London Heathrow Airport

Expansion in 1980s and 1990s

American changed its routing to a hub-and-spoke system starting in 1981, opening its first hubs at DFW and Chicago O'Hare. American began flights to Europe and Japan from these hubs in the mid-1980s.

In the late 1980s, American opened three new hubs for north-south traffic. San Jose International Airport was added as a hub after American purchased Air California. American also built a new terminal and runway at Raleigh-Durham International Airport to take advantage of the rapidly-growing Research Triangle Park nearby, as well as compete with USAir's hub in Charlotte. Nashville was also chosen as a hub.

Lower fuel prices in the era and a favorable business climate at the time led to higher than average airline industry profits. The industry's expansion was not lost on the American Airline's existing employees who on February 17, 1997 struck for higher wages. President Bill Clinton invoked the Railway Labor Act citing economic impact to the United States a few minutes later quashing the strike.[5] Pilots settled for substantially lower wage increases than their demands as a result.

The three new hubs were all abandoned in the 1990s: some San Jose facilities were sold to Reno Air, and likewise at Raleigh/Durham to Midway Airlines. Midway went out of business in 2001. American purchased Reno Air in February 1999 and fully integrated its operations on 31 August 1999, but did not resume hub operations in San Jose. American discontinued most of Reno Air's routes, and sold most of the Reno Air aircraft, much as they had done with Air California 12 years earlier. The only remaining route from the Air California and Reno Air purchases is San Francisco to Los Angeles. All other intra-California routes were either discontinued, or are now operated by smaller American Eagle ERJ-140 aircraft.

Miami also became a hub after American bought Central and South American routes from Eastern Air Lines in 1990 (inherited from Braniff International Airways but originated by Panagra). Through the 1990s, American expanded its route network in Latin America to become the dominant U.S. carrier in the region.

On 15 October 1998 American Airlines became the first airline to offer electronic ticketing in all 44 countries it serves.

TWA merger, 9/11, and aftermath

Mr. Crandall left the company in 1998 and was replaced by Donald J. Carty, who negotiated the purchase of Trans World Airlines and its hub in St. Louis in April 2001.

The merger of seniority lists remains a contentious issue, particularly for pilots - the groups were represented by different unions at their respective airlines. In the final merger, 60 percent of former TWA pilots were moved to the bottom of the seniority list at AA. The most senior TWA captain, hired in 1963, was integrated at the same seniority level as an AA captain hired in 1985.[citation needed] However, the TWA pilots were given "super-seniority" and a specified ratio of positions as captain if they stayed in St. Louis. The result was that most former TWA pilots stayed in St. Louis and roughly maintained their same relative seniority; though, some left St. Louis and fly in the co-pilot seat next to AA pilots who may have been hired at a later date, but are more senior outside the protections afforded to that base. For cabin crews, all former TWA flight attendants (approximately 4,200 employees) were furloughed by mid-2003 due to the AA flight attendants' union putting TWA flight attendants at the bottom of their seniority list.

In the wake of the TWA merger and the roughly concurrent September 11, 2001 attacks by al-Qaeda operatives working under the direction of Osama bin Laden (which claimed two of AA's aircraft along with passengers and crew), American began losing money. Mr. Carty negotiated new wage and benefit agreements with the airline's labor unions, but was forced to resign after union leaders discovered that Carty was planning to award handsome executive compensation packages at the same time. St. Louis' hub was also downsized afterwards.

In Mr. Carty's wake, American has undergone additional cost-cutting measures, including rolling back its "More Room Throughout Coach" program (which eliminated several seats on certain aircraft types), ending three-class service on many international flights, and standardizing its fleet at each hub (see below). However, the airline has rebounded and expanded its service into new markets, including Ireland, India and mainland China.

On July 20, 2005, for the first time in 17 quarters, American announced a quarterly profit; the airline earned $58 million in the second quarter of 2005. It had previously lobbied for the preservation of the Wright Amendment, which regulates commercial airline operations at Love Field in Dallas. On June 15, 2006, American reached an agreement with Southwest Airlines and the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth to seek repeal of the Wright Amendment on the conditions that Love Field remain a domestic airport and that its gate capacity be limited.[6]

Slogans

MD-82 at Raleigh Durham
  • Current - "We know why you fly."
  • 2001 (post-9/11) - "We are an airline that is proud to bear the name American"
  • Mid 1980s-mid 1990s - "Something special in the air"
  • 1970s-1980s - "We're American Airlines, doing what we do best"
  • Early 1970s - "It's good to know you're on American Airlines."
  • 1967-1969 - "Fly the American Way"
  • 1964-1967 - "American built an airline for professional travelers."
  • 1950s-early 1960s - "America's Leading (domestic) Airline"

Destinations

Further information: [[:American Airlines destinations]]

American Airlines serves destinations on five continents including to 4 major cities in Australia. Its network is particularly developed in the Americas, where it serves more destinations than any other U.S. airline. Hubs at Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami and New York (JFK) serve as major gateways to the Americas, while American's Chicago hub has become the airline's primary gateway to Europe and Asia. Similar to other U.S. legacy carriers, American has dramatically cut back on flying point-to-point routes (both domestic and international) to once-important non-hub cities such as Boston, San Jose, and Fort Lauderdale in favor of consolidating operations into major hubs. American is the only U.S. airline with scheduled flights to Anguilla, Bolivia, Dominica, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

In recent years, American has begun to expand its network in Asia, albeit with mixed success. In 2005, American re-introduced a non-stop flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to Osaka, which had been discontinued after the September 11 terrorist attacks, but this service was discontinued a year later. American also launched non-stop service from Chicago to Nagoya, but that too ended within a year. Also in 2005, American launched service from Chicago to Delhi.[7] Somewhat surprising to some (given the lack of success that United Airlines encountered operating the same route) this service has been profitable. In April 2006, American began service from Chicago to Shanghai, which has also proven to be profitable for the company. However, in October 2006, American ceased its San Jose, CA to Tokyo/Narita service, leaving LAX as American's sole international gateway on the West Coast. American planned to start flights between Dallas/Fort Worth and Beijing via Chicago-O'Hare (on Westbound only) in 2007 but lost its bid to United Airlines' Dulles to Beijing route.

American will restart its old daily non-stop service to Barranquilla, Colombia on December 13, 2007.

American has recently applied to fly between Miami and the Venezuelan city of Valencia. The route is waiting for government approval to begin on 10 May 2007.

American is currently seeking approval to the United States Department of Transportation for a nonstop route between Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Beijing, China. If approved by the US Government, the flight will begin on March 25, 2009. [2]

American will begin service from Dallas/Fort Worth and Raleigh/ Durham to London's Heathrow Airport as well as from New York (JFK) to London's Stansted Airport. [3]

New Routes

  • Austin, TX(AUS) - Orange County, CA (SNA) begins September 5, 2007.
  • Chicago O'hare, IL(ORD) - Fort Walton Beach, FL(VPS) begins September 5, 2007 (Operated by American Eagle).
  • Dallas/Fort Worth, TX(DFW) - Flint, MI(FNT) begins September 5, 2007 (Operated by American Eagle).
  • Dallas/Fort Worth, TX(DFW) - Roswell, NM(ROW) begins September 5, 2007 (Operated by American Eagle).
  • New York Kennedy, NY(JFK) - Las Vegas, NV(LAS) begins September 5, 2007.
  • New York LaGuardia,NY(LGA) - Louisville, KY(SDF) begins September 5, 2007 (Operated by American Eagle).
  • Barbados, West Indies(BGI) - Castries, St Lucia(SLU) begins September 5, 2007 (Operated by American Eagle).
  • New York Kennedy,NY(JFK) - London-Stansted,United Kingdom(STN) begins October 28, 2007.
  • New York Kennedy, NY(JFK) - St. Lucia Hewanorra, West Indies(UVF) begins November 15, 2007.
  • New York Kennedy, NY(JFK) - St. Kitts/Nevis, Leeward Islands(SKB) begins November 17, 2007.
  • Miami, FL(MIA) - Barranquilla, Colombia(BAQ) restart December 13, 2007.
  • Dallas/Fort Worth, TX(DFW) - Santa Fe, NM(SAF) begins December 13, 2007 (Operated by American Eagle).
  • Ft. Lauderdale, FL (FLL) - San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) begins December 14, 2007.
  • Ft. Lauderdale, FL (FLL) - Santo Domingo, DR (SDQ) begins December 14, 2007.
  • Miami, FL (MIA) - Valencia, Venezuela (VLN) begins late 2007, pending government approval.
  • Chicago O'Hare, IL(ORD) - Beijing, China(PEK) begins March 25, 2009, pending government approval.

Fleet

Current fleet

As of March, 2007, American's fleet has an average age of 13.9 years.[8] The American Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of March 2007):[9]

Almost half of its fleet is composed of McDonnell Douglas MD-82 and MD-83 series twinjets, referred to by AA as "Super 80", denoting the type's original name, "DC-9 Super 80." Much of the Super 80 fleet dates back to the early 1980s, although some were later acquired from TWA. Most if not all of the MD-80 fleet has already been fitted with the new cabin interior. However, the first class seats are slightly narrower than the ones on the 737-800 cabin due to the width of the MD-80 cabin. American will start phasing out some of its older MD-80s when its next order of 737-800s is delivered sometime in 2009.[10] The airline will use some of its recent profits to replace its aging MD-80s, which are somewhat less fuel efficient than the 737-800, and therefore have a higher operating cost per seat mile. AA has considered ordering more new aircraft in the future if its financial conditions allow.

On April 24, 2007 American announced that it would be upgrading the interior on all of their 757s. The upgrade calls for new economy and first class seats, two additional first class seats increasing the number from 22 to 24, new interior side walls to give the cabin a brighter more welcoming appearance, new LCD monitors to replace the old CRT monitors, new interior carpet, and new digital media file serves used to enhance movie and music entertainment. American also announced on April 24 that they will be conducting the same upgrades on their Boeing 767-200 fleet. AA has also introduced new aircraft to its fleet: the newest are the Boeing 777-200ERs, which replaced MD-11s on key transoceanic routes in the late 1990s such as Tokyo Narita, and 737-800s, which replaced 727s on many domestic and Caribbean routes. The "More Room Throughout Coach" or MRTC, which increased seat pitch and passenger legroom by reducing the number of seats, was an experimental marketing and business plan that has been discontinued.

American Airlines announced on April 25, 2007 that they will be the launch customer to fit their 767-200/300 fleet with blended winglets. The company installing and designing them is APB (aviation partners boeing). All of these upgrades are expected to be completed by mid 2010 and begin in January 2008.

American has discontinued three-class service on most aircraft, but continues to offer first class on 777 and 767-200 aircraft. First class passengers on 777 routes enjoy the "Flagship Suite", a first class seat that can swivel inwards toward a personal work area and also recline 180 degrees to become a bed (slightly more than half the 777 fleet have these seats, the remaining aircraft are planned to be fitted with the flagship suites in 2007. Currently some of the 777s still have the old first class seats which are already beginning to show wear and tear, and are reported to be uncomfortable and outdated. These seats are primarily found on aircraft flying transpacific flights, but also on some transatlantic routes. [11] 767-200 flights between JFK, SFO, and LAX offer three-class "American Flagship Service" which replicates the passenger service offered on long international flights. The business class cabins of American's 767-300 aircraft are in the process of being refitted with electronic "lie-flat" seats. However, like many "lie-flat" seats, these seats do not truly lie flat, but instead have a slight downward slope. The seat design and technology incorporated into the new seats is a full-generation behind behind seats found on many prominent European and Asian carriers. When the installation is complete, the seats will also be introduced on American's 777s.

On all American aircraft except the 757s formerly operated by TWA, passengers in all cabins have a cigarette port DC power ports in the first and/or business class cabins, and at select seats in coach. All classes of service on the 777 have personal video screens, although they lack Audio/Video On Demand (AVOD) systems. These personal video screens have the "GateConnect" feature which allows passengers to view terminal maps and connecting flight information for their destination airport. American is also testing portable entertainment units on its Los Angeles to Chicago MD-80 flights. If the test is successful, these units may be introduced on other MD-80 flights, since these aircraft lack wired in-flight entertainment systems.

American has redesigned its schedules so that each hub city receives certain aircraft types more often than others, which is intended to simplify maintenance and last-minute fleet substitutions. For example, 737-800s and A300s are not flown to Chicago and St. Louis, while MD-80s are not flown to Miami and San Juan. Dallas receives both the MD-80 and 737-800, but like Chicago and St. Louis, also does not receive the A300. Some widebody aircraft, like the 767-300 and the 777-200ER are reserved for international routes, transcontinental routes and/or high density routes. However, the 777-200ER is also operated between hubs, like DFW-MIA and DFW-ORD.

American Airlines was one of three carriers (Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines being the other two) to sign an exclusive agreement with Boeing in the late 1990s. When Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas, the European Union forced Boeing to void the contracts. The carriers are widely believed to still have a gentleman's agreement with Boeing.

In March 2007 American decided to pull its order for 47 Boeing 737-800 forward three years from 2013-2016 to 2009-2012, to replace some of its older MD-80s and increase fuel airline fuel efficiency. The same deal includes the right to purchase Boeing 787 aircraft, although there are no details on size and schedule of potential orders.[12]

In August 2007 the airline announced the intention of offering Wi-fi internet services on it Boeing 767-200ER fleet on flights across the United States next year[13]. The service will allow passengers with wireless internet capabilities to access the internet, emails and and also VPN. The service will have fees similar to those of internet cafes and will require the fitting of a GPS antenna and two other antennas which can be fitted overnight.

American Airlines Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers
(First/Business/Economy) 		Routes Notes
Airbus A300B4-600R 34 267 (16/251) Short-medium haul routes, Caribbean, Dominican Republic.
Boeing 737-800 77
(47 orders) 		142 (16/126)
148 (16/132) 		Short-medium haul domestic, Canada, Mexico. All to be fitted with winglets
Boeing 757-200 124 180 (22/158)
188 (22/166) 		Medium-long haul worldwide routes All to be fitted with winglets
Ex-TWA 757s are being sold to Delta
All to be fitted with new interiors.
Boeing 767-200ER 15 165 (9/30/126)
167 (9/30/128) 		Long haul domestic routes Non -ER aircraft being phased out of service

All to be fitted with winglets
All 767-200 aircraft will be fitted with new interiors.

Boeing 767-300ER 58 219 (30/189)
223 (30/193)
225 (30/195) 		Medium-long haul international routes All to be fitted with winglets

All to be fitted with New Business Class

Boeing 777-200ER 47
(6 orders) 		245 (16/35/194)
247 (18/35/194) 		Long haul international routes, some hub-to-hub flights Some to be fitted with new interiors

All to be fitted with New Business Class and Flagship suites in First Class

McDonnell Douglas MD-82 211 136 (16/120)
140 (16/124) 		Short-medium haul domestic, Canada, Mexico routes. Replacement aircraft: Boeing 737-800
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 88 136 (16/120)
140 (16/124) 		Short-medium haul domestic, Canada, Mexico routes. Replacement aircraft: Boeing 737-800

Retired fleet

American Airlines Retired Fleet
Aircraft Year Retired Notes
BAC 111 1972
BAe 146 1993 ex-AirCal
Boeing 707 1981
Boeing 717 2002 ex-TWA
Boeing 727-023 1993
Boeing 727-223 2002
Boeing 737-1xx 1993 ex-AirCal
Boeing 737-2xx 1993 ex-AirCal
Boeing 737-3A4 1993 ex-AirCal
Boeing 747-123 1983 Exchanged with Pan Am for additional DC-10s
Boeing 747-SP31 1994
Boeing 767-331 2002 ex-TWA
Boeing 767-3YO 2002 ex-TWA
Convair 240 1960s
Convair 990 1970s
Curtiss Condor 1930s
Douglas DC-2 1930s
Douglas DC-3 1930s
Douglas DC-4 1940s
Douglas DC-6 1966
Douglas DC-7 1950s
Douglas DC-9 2001 ex-TWA
Fokker F100 2004 Sold to Jetsgo until Sudden Liquidation
Now Sold to Avianca
Ford 5-AT-B Trimotor 1920s
Lockheed L-188 Electra 1960s
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 2000 Most sold to FedEx
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 2002 Most sold to FedEx
McDonnell Douglas MD-87 2001 ex-Reno Air
McDonnell Douglas MD-90 2001 ex-Reno Air

AAdvantage

File:AAdvantage.gif

AAdvantage is the frequent flyer program of American Airlines. Launched May 1, 1981, it was the first such loyalty program in the world, and remains the largest with more than 50 million members as of 2005.

Miles accumulated in the program allow members to redeem tickets, upgrade service class, or obtain free or discounted car rentals, hotel stays, merchandise, or other products and services through partners. The most active members, based on the amount and price of travel booked, are designated AAdvantage Gold, AAdvantage Platinum, and AAdvantage Executive Platinum elite members, with privileges such as separate check-in, priority upgrade and standby processing, or complimentary upgrades. They also receive similar privileges from AA's partner airlines, notably those in oneworld.

History

Increased competition following the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act prompted airline marketing professionals to develop ways to reward repeat customers and build brand loyalty. The first idea at American, a special "loyalty fare", was modified and expanded to offer complimentary first class tickets and upgrades to first class for companions, or discounted coach tickets. Membership was seeded by searching AA's SABRE computer reservations system for recurring phone numbers. The 130,000 most frequent flyers, plus an additional 60,000 members of AA's Admirals Club were pre-enrolled and sent letters with their new account numbers. The name was selected by AA's advertising agency, and is consistent with other American Airlines programs featuring "AA" in the name and logo.

Less than a week later, rival United Airlines launched its Mileage Plus program; other airlines followed in the ensuing months and years. The rapid appearance of competition changed the nature of the program, and as airlines began to compete on the features of their frequent flyer programs, AAdvantage liberalized its rules, established partnerships with hotel and rental car agencies, and offered promotions such as extra free beverages. In 1982 AAdvantage also became the first program to cooperate with an international carrier; members could accrue and redeem miles on British Airways flights to Europe.

In 2005 American Airlines joined other major US carriers in introducing an online shopping portal allowing shoppers to earn AAdvantage miles when shopping online.

Partnerships

In addition to its oneworld, American Connection, and American Eagle partnerships, American Airlines offers frequent flier partnerships with the following airlines:

Admirals Club

File:Admirals Club.gif
File:Admirals.jpg
Inside an American Airlines Admirals Club

The Admirals Club was conceived by AA president C.R. Smith as a marketing gimmick shortly after he was made an honorary Texas Ranger. Inspired by the Kentucky colonels and other honorary organizations, Smith decided to make particularly valued passengers "admirals" of the "Flagship fleet" (AA called its aircraft "Flagships" at the time). The list of Admirals included many celebrities, politicians and other VIPs, as well as more "ordinary" customers who had been particularly loyal to the airline.

There was no physical Admirals Club until shortly after the opening of LaGuardia Airport. During the airport's construction, New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia had an upper-level lounge set aside for press conferences and business meetings. At one such press conference, he noted that the entire terminal was being offered for lease to airline tenants; after a reporter asked whether the lounge would be leased as well, LaGuardia replied that it would, and a vice president of AA immediately offered to lease the premises. The airline then procured a liquor license and began operating the lounge as the "Admirals Club" in 1939.

The second Admirals Club opened at Washington National Airport. Because it was illegal to sell alcohol in Virginia at the time, the Club contained refrigerators for the use of its members, so they could store their own liquor at the airport.

For many years, membership in the Admirals Club (and most other airline lounges) was by the airline's invitation. After a passenger sued for discrimination, the Club (and most other airline lounges) switched to a paid membership program. Membership now costs $250 to $450 a year, depending on previous member status and AAdvantage frequent flyer program level; membership can also be purchased with AAdvantage miles.

Locations

Codeshare agreements

777-200ER landing at London Heathrow Airport.

American has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

AmericanConnection, which feeds American's hub at Lambert Saint Louis International Airport, is also a codesharing operation with three regional carriers. It also has reciprocal agreements for earning frequent flyer miles with several airlines, including all other members of the Oneworld alliance.

Incidents and accidents

See also: List of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners grouped by airline

Livery

American's early liveries varied widely, but a common livery was adopted in the 1930s, featuring an eagle painted on the fuselage. The eagle became a symbol of the company and inspired the name of American Eagle Airlines. Propeller aircraft featured an international orange lightning bolt running down the length of the fuselage, which was replaced by a simpler orange stripe with the introduction of jets.

In the late 1960s, American commissioned an industrial designer to develop a new livery. The original design called for a red, white, and blue stripe on the fuselage, and a simple "AA" logo, without an eagle, on the tail. However, American's employees revolted when the livery was made public, and launched a "Save the Eagle" campaign similar to the "Save the Flying Red Horse" campaign at Mobil. Eventually, the designer caved in and created a highly stylized eagle, which remains the company's logo to this day. In 1999, American painted a new Boeing 757 in its 1959 international orange livery.

American is the only major U.S. airline that leaves the majority of its aircraft surfaces unpainted. This was because C. R. Smith hated painted aircraft, and refused to use any liveries that involved painting the entire plane. Robert "Bob" Crandall later justified the distinctive natural metal finish by noting that less paint reduced the aircraft's weight, thus saving on fuel costs. Eastern Air Lines and US Airways have also maintained unpainted airplanes in the past.

Trivia

  • In the 1960s, Mattel released a series of American Airlines stewardess Barbie dolls.
  • An "American Airlines Space Freighter", the Valley Forge, was the setting for the 1971 science fiction movie Silent Running, starring Bruce Dern and directed by Douglas Trumbull. The freighter featured the then-new "AA" logo on the hull.
  • On 30 March 1973 AA became the first major airline to employ a female pilot when Bonnie Tiburzi was hired to fly Boeing 727s.
  • AA was featured prominently in the first two Home Alone movies.
  • In the early 1990s, singer Janet Jackson made a commercial for AA.
  • AA has been a long-time promotional sponsor of The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from AA's hub city of Chicago.
  • AA is one of the few companies to have purchased naming rights for two sporting venues: the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami and the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The 2006 NBA Finals saw the Miami Heat taking on the Dallas Mavericks, creating great exposure for American Airlines.
  • The airline received a 100% rating on the first Corporate Equality Index released by the Human Rights Campaign in 2002 and has maintained their rating in respect to policies on LGBT employees.
  • Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie of Vermont was formerly a pilot for the airline until his re-election in 2006.
  • American has three inflight magazines, American Way, Celebrated Living (First and Business Class) and Nexos - American's Spanish and Portuguese language publication.
  • AA is the first airline to develop a frequent flyer program, dubbed AAdvantage and created on May 1, 1981. It is the largest airline loyalty program in the world and maintains an active membership of more than 56 million members.
  • As of 2006, AA's regional airline, American Eagle, had almost completed an extensive fleet transformation, replacing their turboprop aircraft with Embraer regional jets and Canadair regional jets, with the exception of the remaining ATR & Saab turboprops which they are in the process of phasing out.
  • AA's "American Connection" service operates from the Saint Louis hub. Unlike "American Eagle", Under a marketing agreement with American Airlines, three independent airlines – Chautauqua Airlines, Regions Air and Trans States Airlines – operate flights with the AA code under the AmericanConnection brand name. All three airlines are providers of regional flying to and from St. Louis for American Airlines, previously operating for TWA as TWExpress.
  • AA is the only legacy carrier in the United States which has not filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
  • Vignelli Associates designed the AA eagle logo in 1967. Vignelli attributes the introduction of his firm to American Airlines to Henry Dreyfuss, the legendary AA design consultant. The logo is still in use today.
  • American Airlines uses the code name "Jim Wilson" for corpses that are shipped with the flight. [17]
  • American originally wanted to celebrate its new Love Field service in 2005 but canceled the plans because of the crash in Chicago of Southwest Airlines Flight 1248.

Catering

See Gate Gourmet

Sources

  • John M. Capozzi, A Spirit of Greatness (JMC, 2001), ISBN 0-9656410-3-1
  • Don Bedwell, Silverbird: The American Airlines Story (Airways, 1999), ISBN 0-9653993-6-2
  • Al Casey, Casey's Law (Arcade, 1997), ISBN 1-55970-307-5
  • Simon Forty, ABC American Airlines (Ian Allan, 1997), ISBN 1-882663-21-7
  • Dan Reed, The American Eagle: The Ascent of Bob Crandall and American Airlines (St. Martin's, 1993), ISBN 0-312-08696-2
  • Robert J. Serling, Eagle (St. Martin's, 1985), ISBN 0-312-22453-2
  • International Directory of Company Histories, St. James Press.

References

  1. ^ [Aviation Week and Space Technology, January 15, 2007, p. 349],
  2. ^ http://www.aviationexplorer.com/american_airlines.htm
  3. ^ http://www.aviationexplorer.com/american_airlines.htm
  4. ^ Jets Across the U.S., TIME, November 17, 1958.
  5. ^ "http://www.iht.com/articles/1997/02/17/fly.t_1.php". {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  6. ^ American Airlines Joins Southwest Airlines in Defeating the Wright Amendment (Today In The Sky: November 2, 2006)
  7. ^ American Airlines Introduces Non-Stop Service To Delhi
  8. ^ American Airlines Fleet Age
  9. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. pp. 74–75.
  10. ^ Trottman, Melanie. "AMR Accelerates Orders For Fuel-Efficient 737's". Wall Street Journal, March 29, 2007
  11. ^ http://www.aa.com/content/amrcorp/pressReleases/2006_03/09_bizclass.jhtml
  12. ^ Darren Shannon (2007-04-03). "American reveals plan to buy 787s as it revises 737 order". Flight International. p. 8.
  13. ^ [1], 07/08/07
  14. ^ http://www.airguideonline.com/airsafety_nonfatal05.htm
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