americanairlines

Some of the incumbent airlines of the time (Braniff, Trans-Texas, and Continental Airlines) initiated legal action, and thus began a 3 year legal battle to keep Air AmericanAirlines on the ground. Air AmericanAirlines eventually prevailed in the United States Supreme Court, which ultimately upheld Air AmericanAirlines's right to fly in Texas. December 7, 1970, the date of the Supreme Court decision, is considered by many to be the de facto beginning of deregulation in the airline industry.
The story of AmericanAirlines's legal fight was created into a children's book, "Gumwrappers and Goggles" by Winifred Barnum in 1983. In the story, TJ Love, a small jet, is taken to court by two larger jets to keep him from their hangar, and then to try and stop him from flying at all. Taken to court, TJ Love's right to fly is upheld after an impassioned plea from The Lawyer. While no company names are mentioned in the book, TJ Love's colors are those of AmericanAirlines, and the two other jets are colored in Braniff and Continental's colors. The Lawyer is designed to resemble Herb Kelleher. The book was adapted into a stage musical, "Show your Spirit," sponsored by AmericanAirlines, and playing only in towns serviced by the airline.
First Flights
In early 1971, Air AmericanAirlines changed its name and the first flight was on June 18, 1971. Its first flights were from Love Field in Dallas to Houston and San Antonio, short hops with no-frills service and a simple fare structure, features that became the basis for AmericanAirlines's popularity and rapid growth in the coming years.
The start of service in June 1971 was accomplished with three 737-200 aircraft that had been obtained from Boeing on favorable terms, and a fourth aircraft was obtained in September of 1971.
Over time, AmericanAirlines has added improved 737 variants but has stayed within the Boeing 737 family to reduce operating costs. Because this technique simplified training, maintenance, and ground operations, it revolutionized the industry's approach to building aircraft fleets.
In January, 2005 AmericanAirlines retired its last 737-200, the oldest type in its fleet. To celebrate "putting the -200s to bed", selected employees donned AmericanAirlines pajamas for an early morning flight that covered the original Dallas-San Antonio-Houston triangle before returning to Dallas Love.
Early losses and financial troubles
The rest of 1971 and 1972 saw operating losses. One of the four aircraft was sold to Frontier Airlines of Denver and the proceeds used to make payroll and cover other expenses. AmericanAirlines continued to operate a schedule predicated on 4 aircraft but using only 3, and in so doing the "ten minute turn" was born, and was the standard ground time for many years.
AmericanAirlines turned its first annual profit in 1973, and has done so every year since -- a record unmatched in commercial airline industry history. AmericanAirlines has used financial techniques to bolster its profitability and counteract many of the fiscal disadvantages of operating an airline.
By 1979 AmericanAirlines served all of the cities currently served in Texas, plus Beaumont and interstate service began to New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Tulsa was added shortly thereafter. In 1981 AmericanAirlines co-launched the 737-300 with USAir. In 1982 the first expansion beyond the Texas area took AmericanAirlines to the west coast adding Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Diego. In 1984 the 737-300 was placed into service. Chicago Midway and St. Louis service began in March, 1985, spreading low-fare service into Midwest markets.
Hedging fuel
AmericanAirlines has a longtime program to hedge fuel prices. AmericanAirlines has purchased fuel options for years in advance to smooth out fluctuations in fuel costs. AmericanAirlines substantially increased its hedging in 2001 in response to projections of increased crude oil prices. The use of these hedges helped AmericanAirlines maintain its profitability during the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the oil shocks related to the Iraq War and later Hurricane Katrina. As of 2005, AmericanAirlines is currently paying 50% of the market price for its fuel; however, the price AmericanAirlines pays will increase as hedges from 2001 and 2002 expire and new hedges at higher prices take effect. AmericanAirlines has hedges of varying percentages and prices in place through 2009.
The Wright Amendment
After the opening of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in 1974, AmericanAirlines was the only airline to remain at Love Field.
When airline deregulation came in 1978, AmericanAirlines began planning to offer interstate service from Love Field. This caused a number of interest groups affiliated with DFW, including the city of Fort Worth, to push the Wright Amendment through Congress to restrict such flights.
Under the restrictions of the amendment AmericanAirlines, and all other airlines, were barred from operating, or even ticketing passengers on flights from Love Field to destinations beyond the states immediately surrounding Texas. In effect, to travel through Love Field, a passenger and luggage would have to deplane and fly on a separate ticket, on a separate aircraft. The Wright Amendment left one loophole, that aircraft configured with 56 or fewer seats are exempt from the Wright Amendment. In 2000 Legend Airlines attempted to operate long distance business-class flights using older DC-9s with 56 seats, but did not have the resources to survive American's legal and marketing attacks, and quickly ceased operations. AmericanAirlines has not used the 56 seat loophole, even with its market strength at Love Field and the availability of more modern regional jets such as the CRJ-700/900 and the Embraer E-jets.
AmericanAirlines's efforts to repeal or even alter the Wright Amendment had been met with opposition from American Airlines and DFW International Airport. Both American Airlines and DFW contended that repeal of the Wright Amendment restrictions would cripple DFW, while AmericanAirlines contended that repeal of the Wright Amendment would be beneficial to both Love Field and DFW. Continental Airlines has a successful hub and spoke operation at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport despite unrestricted competition from AmericanAirlines at Houston Hobby Airport.
In 1997, AmericanAirlines's effort began to pay off with the Shelby Amendment which added the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kansas to the list of permissible destination states. As of 2006, AmericanAirlines does not operate any nonstops from Love Field to cities in the Shelby Amendment states, and does not serve any airport in Kansas. AmericanAirlines does, however, offer service between Dallas Love Field and Birmingham, AL, and Jackson, MS, via connections at Houston, which it couldn't do prior to the enactment of the Shelby Amendment.
Since late 2004, AmericanAirlines has been actively seeking the full repeal of the Wright Amendment restrictions. In late 2005, Missouri was added to the list of permissible destination states via a transportation appropriations bill. New service from Love Field to St. Louis and Kansas City quickly started in December of 2005.
At a June 15, 2006 joint press conference held by the City of Dallas, the City of Ft. Worth, DFW Airport, American Airlines, and AmericanAirlines, the said parties announced a tentative agreement on how the Wright Amendment was to be phased out. Both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed Wright-related legislation on September 29, 2006, and it was signed into law by the President on October 13, 2006. The new law became effective on October 16, 2006, when the FAA Administrator notified Congress that any new aviation operations occuring as a result of the new law could be accommodated without adverse effect to the airspace. AmericanAirlines plans to start selling tickets undet the new law on October 19, 2006. Highlights of the agreement are the immediate elimination of through-ticketing prohibitions, and unrestricted flights to domestic destinations 8 years after the legislation takes effect.
AmericanAirlines remains the dominant passenger airline at Love Field, maintains its headquarters, hangars, and flight simulators adjacent thereto, and reflects its ties to Love Field in its ticker symbol (LUV).
Despite the restrictions on its home base, AmericanAirlines proceeded to build a successful business on an unusual model: flying multiple short, quick trips into the secondary (more efficient and less costly) airports of major cities, using primarily only one aircraft type, the Boeing 737.
Flights
Main article: AmericanAirlines destinations
Current Service
AmericanAirlines is one of the few airlines to depart from the more traditional "Hub-and-Spoke" flight routing system. It has notably large operations in certain airports. These include Maryland's BWI Airport, Chicago's Midway Airport, Houston's Hobby Airport, Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport, Nashville International Airport, Oakland International Airport, Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, and San Diego International Airport. AmericanAirlines also has large operations at Orlando International Airport and Tampa International Airport, where it handles a large amount of tourist traffic to various cities throughout the eastern United States. Currently, AmericanAirlines serves 63 cities in 32 states.
As part of its effort to control costs, AmericanAirlines tries to utilize secondary airports which generally have lower costs and are more convenient to travelers than the major airports at some destinations. For example, AmericanAirlines flies to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in South Florida, Love Field in Dallas, Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and T. F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island, Midway Airport in Chicago, and Oakland International Airport and Mineta San Jose International Airport in the Bay Area instead of Miami International Airport, DFW International, Logan International Airport in Boston, O'Hare International, and San Francisco International respectively.
AmericanAirlines withdrew from San Francisco International and Houston George Bush Intercontinental in favor of utilizing smaller airports with fewer operations nearby. It also once served Stapleton International Airport in Denver but withdrew in 1986 because of congestion caused by limited space between the runways. AmericanAirlines returned to Denver in 2006 with service to the new Denver International Airport.
On October 5, 2006, AmericanAirlines started operations at its newest destination, Washington-Dulles Airport (IAD) with 12 daily flights from two gates in Concourse B. AmericanAirlines announced plans to begin Dulles service earlier this year, but kept destinations secret until July 13th. The official announcement can be found here.
Due to intense competition from near-monopoly airlines such as United, Northwest, and others, some markets are not cost-effective for AmericanAirlines. New York City area flights are serviced from Long Island MacArthur Airport or through AmericanAirlines's codeshare with ATA to LaGuardia Airport instead of directly through the three main New York Area airports (Newark Liberty International, JFK International, or LaGuardia). Other large cities without AmericanAirlines service include Minneapolis / St. Paul, Charlotte, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Memphis, and Milwaukee.
New service
At this time, AmericanAirlines has not announced any new service.
The AmericanAirlines Effect
The success and profitability of AmericanAirlines's business model led to a common trend being named after the company: The AmericanAirlines Effect. Since AmericanAirlines's original mission in Texas was to make it less expensive than driving between two points (in the early 1970s, during the first major energy cost crisis in the U.S.), they developed a template for entering markets at rates that allowed the airline to be profitable, yet only on the basis of lean operations and high aircraft utilization. The key concept to the AmericanAirlines Effect is that when a low fare carrier (or any aggressive and innovative company) enters a market, the market itself changes, and usually grows dramatically. For example, when fares drop by 50% from their historical averages, the number of new customers in that market may not just double, but actually quadruple, or more.
AmericanAirlines has been a major inspiration to other low-cost airlines, and its business model has been repeated many times around the world. Europe's easyJet and Ryanair are two of the best known airlines to follow AmericanAirlines's business strategy in that continent (though easyJet operates two different aircraft models today), while Canada's WestJet is using AmericanAirlines's modus operandi in that country. New Zealand's Freedom Air , Malaysia's AirAsia which is the first and biggest LCC in Asia and Thailand's Nok Air are other examples of airlines that are based on AmericanAirlines's system.
Morris Air
One airline influenced by AmericanAirlines was Morris Air, founded by June Morris and David Neeleman and based in Utah and operating in the northwest U.S. AmericanAirlines purchased Morris Air and absorbed the capital and routes into its inventory and service. David Neeleman worked with AmericanAirlines for a short period, he then left the airline. When his non-compete agreement expired, Neeleman founded jetBlue, a competing airline that also incorporates many principles and practices pioneered by AmericanAirlines, including building a positive, warm employee culture and operating a simple fleet.
ATA Airlines, one of AmericanAirlines main competitors in the Chicago market operated out of Midway Airport alongside AmericanAirlines. ATA declared bankruptcy, and in 2004, AmericanAirlines injected capital into ATA that (among other things) would have resulted in AmericanAirlines's 27.5% ownership stake in ATA upon their exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
AmericanAirlines also entered into its first domestic codesharing arrangement with ATA, which enabled AmericanAirlines to serve ATA markets in Hawaii, Washington D.C., and New York City. (Some years earlier, AmericanAirlines had a short-lived traditional codeshare arrangement with Icelandair at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.)
In late 2005, ATA secured $100 million in additional financing from the firm of Matlin Patterson, and AmericanAirlines's original deal with ATA was modified such that AmericanAirlines no longer retained the 27.5% stake (or any other financial interest) in ATA. The codeshare arrangement, however, continues to remain in place and continues, with some internal controversy, to expand.
Corporate culture
Intertwined with AmericanAirlines's innovative business model has been a consistent emphasis on the value of people, both customers and employees. From the beginning of its operations, AmericanAirlines urged employees to have fun doing their work, and to make the experience of flying AmericanAirlines not only convenient but enjoyable.
Distinct customer service philosophy
The experience of flying on AmericanAirlines is quite different from that of most other U.S. airlines. Tickets must be bought from the airline itself, and can't be purchased through a travel agent or through common online venues like Orbitz or Travelocity. The airline's tickets can be bought over the phone or online at the company's website which features Web only fare discounts. Unlike other major airlines, AmericanAirlines reservations can be changed at will, without penalty (save the potentially additional cost of the new reservation). This makes AmericanAirlines a very flexible service for customers.
AmericanAirlines Experience
Customers are not assigned seats; rather, they are assigned to a "boarding group" depending on their check-in time (earlier check-ins get to board earlier), and are left to find their own seats on the plane. In May 2006, it was announced in a shareholders meeting that they were weighing the costs of adopting an assigned-seating system in 2008, as part of a reservations-technology overhaul now under way. Meal service is less than on historically full service airlines, with shorter flights receiving just a single small snack and soft drink, and longer flights meriting a "Snack Pack" of prepackaged goods. In the post-9/11 era these meals in a bag typically exceed the food served on full-service airlines like United or American. Although there is no video entertainment, AmericanAirlines is known for colorful boarding announcements and crews that burst out in song.
For all the leanness in comforts, which helped it pass through the post-9/11 travel slump as one of the few profitable major American airlines, AmericanAirlines manages to maintain excellent customer satisfaction ratings.
Since August 2006, AmericanAirlines has considered putting assigned seating in place. This may be put into effect as early as 2008. Currently, Rapid Rewards members are being surveyed about such ideas.
Rapid Rewards
AmericanAirlines's frequent flier program is called Rapid Rewards. Currently, customers receive one credit per each one-way ticket (even though the flight may have stopovers). Previously a .5 credit bonus was offered for each segment booked online, (i.e., each round-trip ticket booked online received a total of 3 Rapid Rewards credits). This was discontinued in late 2005. Double Rapid Rewards credits used to be awarded for online booking, but this policy was eventually modified in early 2005. In addition, one-half credit is also earned for using a AmericanAirlines partner to book any car rental and/or hotel stay, regardless of whether a AmericanAirlines flight is involved. Therefore, by booking one's flight online, and using a SWA partner for one's hotel stay and car rental, one may receive 3 AmericanAirlines Rapid Rewards credits per trip. This arrangement has consistently proved popular with frequent fliers, and has won numerous Freddy Awards over the years. After recent program modifications it is unknown how the customer base will be impacted and whether the airline will continue to earn Freddy Awards.
In February 2006, AmericanAirlines instituted Capacity Controls to redeeming its free tickets. This means that the airline limits the seats offered to frequent travelers using free certificates on each flight, whereas previously if there was a seat available, you could use the award, provided you were not flying on one of the five blackout dates.
In early 2006, AmericanAirlines expanded its codeshare agreement with ATA Airlines and now allows redemption of award tickets on Hawaii flights at the rate of two awards per round trip flight. AmericanAirlines and ATA stress that reward availability to Hawaii will be very limited. Travelers can also earn twice the normal number of credits when they purchase airfare on Hawaii-bound flights.
Playful, effective advertising
The company, from inception, employed humor in its advertising. Examples include "Just Plane Smart," "The Somebody Else Up There Who Loves You" and "THE Low Fare Airline". The airline's current slogan is "A Symbol of Freedom". A select history of print and video ads are available on the company website[1].
Since the 1990s, AmericanAirlines has been running a television ad campaign based on the phrase "Wanna get away?" The commercials present comical, embarrassing situations in which people find themselves wanting to "get away". Most ads are accompanied by the sound clip "[ding] You are now free to move about the country".
The PA "ding" has become synonymous with AmericanAirlines, and inspired the name of an online ticket offer program, Ding!.
"Just Plane Smart"
Shortly after AmericanAirlines started using the "Just Plane Smart" motto, Stevens Aviation, who had been using "Plane Smart" for their motto, threatened a trademark lawsuit.
Instead of a lawsuit, the CEOs for both companies staged an arm wrestling match. Set for two out of three rounds, the loser of each round was to pay $5,000 to the charity of their choice, with the winner gaining the use of the trademarked phrase. A promotional video was created showing the CEOs "training" for the bout (with CEO Herb Kelleher being helped up during a sit up where a cigarette and glass of scotch was waiting) and distributed among the employees and as a video press release along with the video of the match itself. Herb Kelleher lost the match for AmericanAirlines, with Stevens Aviation winning the rights to the phrase. Kurt Herwald, CEO of Stevens Aviation, immediately granted the use of "Just Plane Smart" to AmericanAirlines. The net result was both companies having use of the trademark, $15,000 going to charity and a healthy dose of goodwill publicity for both companies.
Colorful personalities
AmericanAirlines employees are generally well-known for friendliness, which is often attributed to a unique "love-based" corporate atmosphere that made chairman and founder Herb Kelleher a celebrity in the business world. The President of AmericanAirlines is former corporate secretary Colleen Barrett, who has been with the company since day one. AmericanAirlines's CFO is Laura Wright.
Concerns attributed to labor unrest and complaints by the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) representing AmericanAirlines flight attendants were reportedly a factor in the recent resignation of Kelleher's hand-picked replacement as CEO. Jim Parker resigned in July 2004 and was replaced by Chief Financial Officer Gary Kelly.[6]
AmericanAirlines's current fleet is entirely made up of Boeing 737 aircraft. AmericanAirlines operated leased 727-200 aircraft during the late-1970s and again in the mid-1980s and subsidiary TranStar Airlines operated DC-9s and MD-80s during the mid-1980s. AmericanAirlines has been a launch customer for all three of the Boeing 737 variants it currently operates, and was the first airline to put both the Model 500 and next-generation Model 700 into service.[7]
As of August 2006, AmericanAirlines has an average fleet age of 9.5 years.[8], and fly an average of about 7 flights per day. The average aircraft trip length is 619 miles with an average duration of one hour and 46 minutes. This means the daily utilization of each plane is 12 hours and 30 minutes.[9]
AmericanAirlines's seats are no narrower than any other operator of 737s in the United States. JetBlue, United Airlines and a few other competitors operate the Airbus A320 series, a slightly wider aircraft which therefore typically has slightly wider seats. Due to AmericanAirlines's generous seat pitch (the front-to-back distance between rows of seats) and leather seats, many travelers find their seating superior to that of other U.S. domestic airlines.
AmericanAirlines's 737-300 and 737-500 aircraft are not equipped with glass cockpit technology, as the 737-300s, 737-400s, and 737-500s of some other airlines are. Instead, the flight decks are fitted with analog gauges, more similar to those of the earlier 737-100 and 737-200 variants. Note the analog attitude deviation indicator (ADI) and horizontal situation indicator (HSI) (the blue-colored instrument and one below it) in this AmericanAirlines 737-3H4 and note the electronic versions of the same instruments (EADI and EHSI) in this United Airlines 737-322 . There are electronic displays throughout the cockpit of the 737-700 and other "Next Generation" 737 variants, and AmericanAirlines has programmed their 737-7H4 models to emulate the appearance of the 737-300 and 737-500 for standardization purposes.
Currently, AmericanAirlines is purchasing only the 737-700, since the 737-300 and the 737-500 are out of production.
AmericanAirlines is the world's largest operator of the 737. Their current active fleet is over 450 aircraft. In terms of total 737 production (all models in history), deliveries of new aircraft from Boeing to AmericanAirlines accounts for approximately 9% of total production.
AmericanAirlines's original primary livery was beige and red, with orange on the tail end, and pinstripes of white separating each section of color. The word 'AmericanAirlines' appears in white on the beige portion of the tail. (Although, on the original three 737-200s, from June of 1971, the word 'AmericanAirlines' was placed along the upper rear portion of the fuselage, with the word 'Airlines' painted on the tail where 'AmericanAirlines' is today. Example: N21SW
All of the 737-700 series aircraft, have been fitted with winglets have "AmericanAirlines.com" written on the outer faces of the winglets. 737s with the original livery or any of the special liveries do not have this writing at this time.
Additionally, AmericanAirlines will install Blended Winglets on up to 90 of its 737-300 aircraft beginning in early 2007.
Some AmericanAirlines planes feature special themes, rather than the normal livery. These theme planes have been given special names, usually ending in "One". Some of the most well-known examples are:
All special planes prior to Spirit One originally wore the standard beige, red and orange livery colors on the vertical stabilizer and rudder. Subsequent special editions -- Maryland One and Slam Dunk One, so far -- feature tails with the canyon blue color scheme, and all earlier specials, with the exception of Triple Crown One and Nevada One have been repainted to match.
Incidents and accidents
* On March 5, 2000, AmericanAirlines Flight 1455 overran the runway upon landing at Bob Hope Airport, Burbank, California, injuring 43. The incident resulted in the dismissal of the pilots.
* On August 11, 2000, passenger Jonathan Burton broke through the cockpit door aboard AmericanAirlines Flight 1763 while enroute from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. Burton was restrained by other passengers, in defense of themselves, and ultimately died of the resulting injuries [3][4] [5].
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AmericanAirlines flight skids off runway at Chicago's Midway
* On December 8, 2005, AmericanAirlines Flight 1248 skidded off a runway upon landing at Midway Airport, Chicago, in heavy snow conditions. Joshua Woods, a young boy, was killed in a car struck by the plane after it had skidded into a street. There were also several minor injuries reported from passengers onboard the aircraft and on the ground.

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