TheCustomerExperience
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
FEBRUARY 01, 2012
65
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CraigS. Kreeger
SeniorVicePresident–CustomerExperience
AmericanAirlines
This isadynamic timeatAmericanAirlines.Our
business is changing, and as I look further into
2012, I’m encouraged by the company’s future
andhow theyear isgoing toshapeup.At theend
of last year, our parent company, AMR, filed for
reorganization—anecessarystep inorder toput
our airline back on the path of profitability and
back on a level playing field with our competi-
tors. Formany, this isanuncertain topic, and I’d
like to take the time toexplainwhat our restruc-
turing reallymeans to us as a company, to you
as thecustomerand to the futureofAmerican.
First and foremost, it’s important that you
knowwe’re operating “business as usual” and,
most importantly, that our customers remain
our number one priority. We’re committed to
providingexcellent serviceand thesafe, reliable
travel experience that youhavealwaysexpected
from us. Aswe reorganize, we are dedicated to
building a new and better American in the near
term and for years to come. Under the leader-
ship of Tom Horton, our president, CEO and
chairman, I am confident that our company is
headeddown thepath toasuccessful future.
Many have asked: Why restructure now? To
make it simple, in order to achieve a cost-and-
debt structure that is competitive with other
airlines in the industry, it was important that we
take action— and that we do so now. Once we
align our costs, we expect to have access to re-
sourceswehaven’t had in recent years, allowing
us tomakeevenmore investments tobenefityou.
By restructuring at this point in time, wewill be
well positioned toensureour long-termsuccess
and our ability to continue delivering a world-
class travel experience for you. And with our
focus on improving the airline and the customer
experience, we will continue to pursue plans to
invest in new products and services, including
those investments we havemade in revitalizing
our fleet with our upcoming aircraft deliveries,
expandingournetworkstrength in the important
citiesof theworldandcontinuingourwork inno-
vating industry-leading technologies.
Throughout this process, we are committed
to keeping your travels with American con-
sistent, aswewill continue toflynormal sched-
ules; honor reservations, tickets, gift cards and
vouchers; andmake exchanges and refunds as
usual. Our AAdvantage frequent-flier program
will be fully maintained, and all AAdvantage
miles and elite status earned bymembers will
remain secure and intact. Our Admirals Club
facilities around the world are open as usual,
and ourmembership rules and rates— includ-
ing annual memberships, One-Day Passes,
and our new 30-day memberships— have not
changed. Nor have the access policies to the
one
world and codeshare partner lounges. And
wewill continue toserveasan integralmember
of the
one
world alliance, of which American is
a founding member, and we will continue our
codesharepartnershipsasusual.
Lookingbackat2011, Iamproudofourmany
accomplishments as we worked to better our
airline and customer experience. We were the
first domestic airline to offer a branded tablet
onboard with the Samsung Galaxy 10.1, giving
our premium customers a library of entertain-
ment options inflight. We became the first U.S.
airline tooffer a turndown service inour premi-
um cabins and the first North American airline
tooffer in-flight streaming videowithourEnter-
tainmentonDemandproduct.Wealsocontinued
expansion ofWi-Fi onboard our fleet in order to
keepour customers connectedandentertained,
and we announced the largest aircraft order in
aviation history, whichwill allow us to have the
youngestU.S. fleet in just a fewshort years. The
momentumwe’ve built in the last year does not
stopwhilewe reorganizeourhouse.
In fact, theseenhancementshaveonlypaved
theway forwhat’s in store at American in 2012.
We remain committed to continuing our efforts
to modernize and enhance your travel experi-
ence with our airline and to investing in prod-
ucts and services designed to add value to your
businesswithus.
I appreciate your loyalty, and I look forward
toservingyou in thisnewyear.Asalways,please
feel free to write us by going to
/
customerrelations.
Preparing fora
NewAmericanAirlines
