V A N T A G E P O I N T
AMERICANWAY
JANUARY 15 2009
8
PHOTOGRAPHBYCHETSNEDDEN
We’d love to hearwhat you think about our
airline and our employees. Pleasewrite to us
atwww.aa.com/customerrelations.
Lindbergh)we operatedway back in 1926.
Today, airfreight forwarders, logistics pro-
viders, and a myriad of other businesses
rely on AA Cargo to keep their operations
humming and their customers happy. In
some cases, we represent the glue holding
an entire manufacturing process together.
With thousands of flights a day to hun-
dreds of destinations in theUnited States,
Europe, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean,
Latin America, and Asia, we have the ca-
pacity to carry up to one hundredmillion
pounds of cargo eachweek.
We are one of the largest cargo carriers
on the planet, but that doesn’t mean we
carry only the big stuff. In fact, we offer a
full range of precision-shipping products
perfect for those crucial legal documents
that must get to New York by the close of
business and for the cooler containing hu-
mankidneys thatmust reach theother side
of the country in time to savea life.
Youmightsay thatonAmericanAirlines,
youdon’tneed tobeaking,aqueen,oreven
aperson to get the royal treatment. On ev-
ery airplanewefly, amazing stories are un-
folding, both in thepassenger cabin and in
thebellybelow.Andonbehalf of our entire
team, Iwant to thank you for letting us be
apart of your story today. If youwould like
to learnmore about our cargo capabilities,
please visit
, and if you
get the chance, you shoulddefinitely check
out “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age
of the Pharaohs” at the DallasMuseum of
Art.
Haveagreat trip, andhappyNewYear!
FitforaKing
Gerard J. Arpey
Chairman&CEO
AmericanAirlines
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I
If you are reading this column aboard an
AmericanAirlines jet, as I assumemost of
youare, takeaquick lookaround the cabin.
Check out your fellow travelers and imag-
ine themultitude of reasons they are flying
today. Thewomannext to youmight be on
her way to a pivotal businessmeeting. The
man behind youmight be about to see his
new grandson for the first time. The young
lady across the aisle might be on her way
back to college. Tome, our ability to enrich
people’s lives by transporting them quickly
fromonepartof theworld toanother isvery
inspiring.
But the wonders we make possible are
not confined to the passenger cabin. In the
belly of any given American Airlines jet,
theremay be tropical flowers on their way
to a florist in Boston, semiconductors en
route toamanufacturer inTexas, fresh sea-
foodbeing transferred fromChileanwaters
toChicagodinnerplates, or evenadiadem.
Before you reach for your dictionary,
let me explain that a diadem is a royal
crown, and the one we carried most re-
cently belonged to King Tutankhamun of
Egypt. American Airlines Cargo was cho-
sen to transport fromLondon toDallas the
priceless artifacts included in the exhibit
“Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the
Pharaohs,” which is showing at the Dallas
Museum of Art throughMay 17. We were
entrusted with shipping more than 130
pieces, someweighingnearly a ton. The ex-
hibit provides a glimpse into the life of the
famous “BoyKing,” who diedundermyste-
rious circumstanceswhenhewas 18or 19.
Our team’s ability to flawlessly move an
exhibit of this size, complexity, anddelicacy
underscores justhow farourcargocapabili-
ties have come since the mail-only flights
(often piloted by legendary aviator Charles
