I
GivingBack
I am happy to once again con-
tribute to
Celebrated Living
’s
special Gift Guide issue, and I
would like to use my column
this year to encourage you to
support themen andwomen of
theUnitedStatesarmed forces,
whose gift of courageous
service and sacrifice makes it
possible for us to do the work
we love to do, and to live the
liveswewant to live.
ThepeopleofAmericanAir-
lines realize thatweoweadebt
to our country’s active-duty
soldiers and veterans — and
their families— that cannever
really be repaid. But we feel
duty-bound to provide whatev-
er support we can. Our ties to themilitary go back
several generations. Today one out of every 10 AA
employees — and six out of every 10 pilots — are
either veterans or still in active military service.
So it’snosurprise thatourpeople leapat thechance
to help those who have given somuch on their be-
half — including those within our own ranks. We
recently established a VeteranMilitary Employee
Resource Group within our company, devoted to
supporting our veteran and active military col-
leagues and their families.
Each year, hundreds of AAers volunteer their
time to put on Sky Ball, a fundraiser to support the
familiesofmilitarypersonnel inNorthTexas.Unfor-
tunately, there is toooftenadisconnect between the
courageousserviceofourarmed forcesoverseasand
the level of support theyand their families receiveat
home. Among other things, themoney we raise at
Sky Ball helps make sure military families in our
community have food on the table, assists with
mortgage and car payment problems, and supports
welcome-homeevents forsoldiersreturning fromwar.
Our people are also deeply
involved in Snowball Express,
a volunteer organization estab-
lished to provide a fun, all-
expense-paid holiday for the
children and spouses of fallen
military heroes. AA is the offi-
cial airlineof Snowball Express,
and thisyearwewill bringmore
than 2,000 military families to
the Dallas/FortWorth area for
the festivities. Hundreds of AA
volunteers donate their time to
helpget the families to theevent
andmakesure theyhaveagreat
time.We’reproud of the rolewe
play in reminding these families
that they are neither alone nor
forgotten, and Ihopeyou’ll visit
and consider contributing to
thisprogram,whichbringsa lotof joy to the families
of thosewho sacrificedeverythingonour behalf.
Asyouknow,wearealwaysonthe lookout forways
to leverage thesizeandpopularityof theAAdvantage
program tohelpourcustomersmakeapositivediffer-
ence in theworld.Oneof thecauseswearemostproud
to support is calledOperationHeroMiles. Through a
partnershipwith Fisher House (learnmore and get
involvedat
),ourcustomersareable
to donatemiles that are used to provide air travel to
family and friends visitingU.S. servicemenwho are
being treatedatmilitaryhospitalsaround theworld.
I knowwe are all deeplygrateful toourmenand
women in uniform. But simple gratitude is not
enough. Fortunately, theorganizationsabove repre-
sent just a small sample of themany opportunities
we have to give back, and tomake a tangible differ-
ence for thosewho have risked, and too often sacri-
ficed, their lives toprotect ours.
Thank you for supporting our troops, and of
course, thankyou forflyingwithus today.
Gerard J. Arpey
Chairman and CEO American Airlines
©CHET SNEDDEN
WINTER 2009
celebratedliving.com
10
FROM
THE CEO
