AIR MAIL
Weenjoyhearingwhat you thinkabout themagazine— somuch so
that
ifyour letter to theeditor ispublished ina2013 issue,you’ll
beentered intoadrawing towin100,000AAdvantagemiles.
Want
achanceat themiles?Simplyemail your thoughts tousat
100,000AAdvantage
milesforyourthoughts.
EX-CEPTIONALTRAVEL
I’m following up on a letter that youpub-
lished in your June 15, 2012, issue about
an excursion my ex-wife and I took to
Italy. One year later, I just finished read-
ing
AmericanWay
,whichgets evenbetter
with each issue, and guess what?My ex-
wife is sittingnext tome, asweareonour
way to Spain. Yes, we are divorced, but it
is still possible to have a best friend and
travelpartner.Asalways, yourentiresta
has treateduswell. Iwant topoint out to
coupleswho are divorced that itmay not
be your final destination. In fact, it could
be anewbeginning of respect and friend-
ship, andyouneverknowwhereAmerican
Airlineswill takeyounext.
ToddR.Janko,Phoenix
MANAGING EDITOR TRAVIS KINSEY RE-
SPONDS:
I’m thrilled tohearPart 2of your story,
Todd, knowing that you and your ex-wife have
found a whole new lease on your relationship
post-marriage. First Italy, now Spain. May your
friendshipwithyour excontinue for years, allow-
ing formanymore travel adventures foryouboth.
ANEXCELLENTLOW-TECHOPTION
Becauseyour enthusiasticflight attendant
persuadedmetopowerdownanythingthat
startedwithan“I,”“I” lookedfora low-tech
replacement.Oh,howIenjoyedthearticles
in
AmericanWay
, as they proved very re-
freshing, especially “Hot RodHaven” by
BruceRushton(March1)andtheprofileon
Bill Nighy in “Itinerary.”As a former die-
hardUSAirwaysflier, I seemyneedswill
bemetwithgraceandwith
AmericanWay
.
Ienjoyedbeingunplugged.
RobBaer,M.D.,VirginiaBeach,Va.
EDITORADAM PITLUKRESPONDS:
Welcome
to the new American Airlines, Dr. Baer. You’ll
absolutely love your new-and-improved airline.
Andwe hope that themore you read
American
Way
, themore youwill love us too. Thanks very
much for the enthusiastic note.
ALLHEART
OnthedayMaryJessieHerrerawasshot in
Iraq (“Looking at theBright Side,”March
1), I was with her. I had two broken legs
from an explosionduring combat on that
dayandwasbeingtransportedbacktobase
withSgt.Herrera.Sittingonmy lap,holding
pressureonherwounds, she laughedatmy
jokesandkeptsmiling.Atnopointdid that
little soldier tear up andbreakdown. She
hada lookonher face that said shewasn’t
sure she’dmake it, andneitherwas I. But
sheneverstoppedbeingasoldier.Shemade
an impressiononmeandcontinues tobea
friend for life.
JamesRay,WaterValley,Miss.
ASSOCIATEEDITORJANHUBBARDRESPONDS:
The column by Cathy Booth Thomas on Mary
Jessie Herrera moved many readers. She may
be only 5-feet-1 and 112 pounds andmay have
had twobullets in her right arm from combat in
Iraq, but her courage and sense of humor dem-
onstratewhat abigheart shehas.Andwhileyou
areunderstatedabout yourownwounds, James,
it is clear therewasmore thanonebrave soldier
on thebattlefield that day.We thank you.
PICTUREPERFECT
WeflyAmericanAirlinesoften, andour fa-
voritedestination isOrlando.We’vebeen
therefive times in the last five years. Any-
onewhohas traveledwith small children
knows how challenging it can be to keep
them entertained. Their attention span is
short, andwe oftenhave to resort to a lot
of tricks to keep themhappy. Oneway is
to look through the pictures in
American
Way
.Wealwaysfindexcitingphotos inyour
creativestoriesthatkeepthemgluedtothe
magazine. Thanks for oering a few extra
minutes of entertainment, even for little
kidswhocan’treadyet!
MonaWalker,Paget,Bermuda
J.H. RESPONDS:
We are always thrilled to get
compliments on our articles, Mona, but to find
out that a 2-year-old is captivatedby ourmaga-
zine photos is something that truly makes us
proud.
WELCOMEBACK
As a former platinum frequent flier on an-
other airline Idecidedonmy last business
trip to giveAmericanAirlines a try again
after a long time of not using the airline.
Thatwaslargelybasedonmydissatisfaction
with theotherairlineover itshandlingofa
customer-service issue,onethatmostroad
warriors likemyself and service-industry
executives would have easily resolved.
MytripwithAmericansurprisedmeinmany
ways.Thenew look,businessapproachand
capital investment that American ismak-
ing seem tobehaving a positive effect on
transforming and improving the airline.
Themost striking change, however, was
theemployees. From thebookingagent to
thegateandflight-service stas, everyone
wasattentiveandfriendly.Oh,andthemag-
azine. Likemany frequent business travel-
ers,Iwasintentonworkingonmycomputer
exceptwhenelectronicshad tobeo. Like
many customers, I imagine, I got snagged
by the “Enter towin 100,000AAdvantage
Miles” and decided to read through the
magazine.Tomysurprise, thereweremany
articlesthatIreallyenjoyed–especiallythe
profiles of other roadwarriors likemyself
(“SpoilsoftheVictors,”March15).Thenew
Americanmaybe getting the full package
workingagain,and
AmericanWay
provides
thefinalnicetouch.Pardonthefishinganal-
ogy,butyouhavesucceeded ingrabbingme
backasacustomerhook, lineandsinker.
JerryDifede,Kemah,Texas
SUZANNEL.RUBIN,PRESIDENT,AADVANTAGE
LOYALTYPROGRAM,RESPONDS:
We’realways
glad to welcome back old friends, Jerry. We’re
working very hard to improve the travel experi-
ence and to earn your business on every flight
andwith every interaction you havewith us. To
continue your fishing analogy, Jerry, you’re one
catchwe’renot going to let get away.
Misseditinthemagazine?
All
AmericanWay
articlesareavailable
onlineat aa.com/americanway
12
MAY 01, 2013
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
