A
HappyAnniversaries!
Asyouhave likelynoticed, in
this issuewearecelebrating the
10thanniversaryof
Celebrated
Living
—and Iwant tocongrat-
ulatemy fellowcontributors to the
magazine for avery successful
decadeof bringingyou thebest
in travel and lifestyle content.
Tenyears isa long time in the
publishingbusiness, and the
airlinebusiness, for thatmatter.
Whileon thesubjectofcorpo-
rateanniversaries, Iwant to
stepeven furtherback in time,
60years further tobeexact, to
talkaboutanotherbigmile-
stone. Seventyyearsago, in
1939,AmericanAirlinesmadea
ground-breaking investment in
customersatisfaction, purchasingafleetof 14
limousines to transport travelers in threeAAcities
toand from theairport.Alas, asmuchasourcustom-
ersenjoyed theextravagance, the limousineservice
didnot last.However, another industry-first innova-
tion launched that sameyear, theAmericanAirlines
AdmiralsClub, hasstood the testof time.
SpurredbycompanypatriarchC.R.Smith,Ameri-
can introduced theAdmiralsClubs—startingatwhat
isnowNewYork’sLaGuardiaAirport—asawayof
honoring theairline’sbestcustomers.Peoplesome-
timesaskabout thename, since itsoundsmorenauti-
cal thanaeronautical. In the1930s, “Mr.C.R.”dubbed
AA’snewDC-3aircraft theFlagshipFleet.Sticking
with themaritime theme,Americanstartedhonoring
someof itsbestcustomers, alongwith theoccasional
moviestarorpublicofficial, as“Admirals.”With the
openingof the industry’sfirstVIPclub in1939, theAd-
miralshadaport tocall theirown, asanctuarywhere
theycouldrelaxbetweenflights.
Back then,membershipwasby invitationonly,
andmemberswere required toweara jacketand tie.
Sevendecades later, ourAdmiralsClub loungesare
both less formal (nodresscode)and lessexclusive
(anyonecan join!) than they
were in1939.But, they remainan
oasisof calm, andacomfortable
place to relaxorget somework
doneamid thehustleandbustle
of theairport.
In recent years,wehave in-
vestedheavily toensureour
networkofmore than 40 clubs
around theworld remains
the industrystandard.Wehave
openednew clubs inTokyo,New
YorkJFK,Dallas/FortWorth,
andMiami, and refurbished
manyof our existing clubs—
addingnew furniture, showers,
children’s rooms, complimentary
Wi-Fi andotheramenities.We
recently completedamajor
refurbishment of our largest clubatChicagoO’Hare,
andwehavebig renovationprojectsgoingonnowat
BostonLoganandLondonHeathrow, bothofwhich
will be completenext year.
AnAdmiralsClubmembership isan investment in
amorerelaxing,morecomfortable, and, formanypeo-
ple, amoreproductive travel experience—andweap-
preciate thatyou takeallyour investmentsvery
seriously, especially in tough times.Wealsounder-
stand that, dependingon the frequencyofyour travel,
anannualmembershipmightnotmakesense foryou.
Or, youmightwant to takeyour localAdmiralsClub
foraspinbeforeyoucommit.That’swhyweoffer the
One-DayPass.Agreatway todiscoverallourclubs
have tooffer, passescanbepurchasedonlineorat the
AdmiralsClubofyourchoice, andcanbeusedatmul-
tipleclubs throughoutyourdayof travel.
Air travel hascertainlychangeda lot since1939.
Inall sincerity, Idoubtwewill everbringback the
limousineservice Imentionedat the top.But theAd-
miralsClub loungesarehere tostay, and I encourage
you tocheckoneout in thenear future. In themean-
time,wherever today’s travel takesyou, thanks for
flyingwithus.Haveagreat trip!
Gerard J. Arpey
Chairman and CEO American Airlines
©CHET SNEDDEN
FALL 2009
celebratedliving.com
10
FROM
THE CEO
