O
AmericanStories
ThomasW. Horton
Chairman and CEO American Airlines
©CHET SNEDDEN
FALL 2012
celebratedliving.com
6
FROM
THE CEO
Oneof thefirst things that Ididafter joining
Americanmanyyearsagowas read
Eagle:
TheStoryofAmericanAirlines
byRobert
Serling.Thiswonderful book tells thestoryof
howa ragtaggroupof small carriers, carry-
ingmostlymail, grew intoan iconofAmeri-
cancommerce, andculture.While learning
thecompanyhistorywasacommon-sense
move foranenthusiasticnewhire, thebook is
so full of interestingstories, somevergingon
incredible, that theexercisewaseverybitas
entertainingas itwaseducational.
Oneofmy favoritestories in thebook took
place in the late1930s.Onaflight toLosAn-
geles, thepilots receiveda rathersurprising
visitor to thecockpit—a lion!Thefilmstudio
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayerwasshippinga lioncub toHollywood
asapotential replacement for theagingLeo,whose roar
openedeveryMGMmovie. Shortlyafter takeoff, theco-pilot
found thecubhappilypurring inhis lap.Acardboardbox
stowedbetween thecockpitand thecabinwasapparentlyno
match for the lonelyandcuriouscub.Twice thecrewcajoled
thecubback into thebox, and twice it returned tovisit its
new, increasinglynervouspilot friends. Fortunately, the
plane theywereflyingwasaDouglasSleeperTransport,
which featureda“SkyRoom” lounge.Aftermucheffort, the
crewwasable tosecure the lion inside the loungeuntil a
scheduledstop inDallas—andonceon theground, they
wereable to locateamoresecurebox for the friendly feline.
Anotherstrange-but-truestory fromourearlydays
involvesCharlesHoward, ayoungaviator thecompanyhired
asaco-pilot in1932.Howard’sstintwith theairline lastedonly
twomonths.HeflewmostlybetweenClevelandandFort
Worth,Texas, andheearnedamonthlysalaryof $250.This
unremarkablecareerwouldnotbea footnote inourhistory
were itnot for the fact thatCharlesHowardwas in factHow-
ardHughes, oneof therichestandmost famouspeople in the
world.Hughes, anaccomplishedaviator,used thealias togain
someairlineexperience. It isanunsolvedmysterywhether
anyairlinepersonnelwerecomplicit in theruse (I tend to
thinkso), butone thingwedoknow is that for twomonthsat
least,weprovidedHugheswith theonlysteady jobheheld in
his life.Afterbeingrecognizedanumberof times,Hughes
abandoned thecharade, abruptly
resigned in themiddleofascheduled
trip, andflewhomeasapassenger.
Incontrast toHughes,whosecelebri-
ty faroutweighedhismodestcontribu-
tion toourairline,GoodrichMurphy, a
youngmanagerof thesameera, almost
inadvertentlycreatedoneof themost
enduringsymbols in thehistoryof
Americanbusiness.AsSerlingdescribes
inhisbook,Murphyenteredacompany-
sponsoredcontest todesignanew
AmericanAirways (thenamechange
toAmericanAirlines tookplace in1934)
insignia thatwouldadornallaircraft,
facilities, and letterheads.The topprize
was$100.Onhiscard tableathome,Murphycameupwith
severalpossibledesigns,whichhesubmitted.On thenightof
thedeadline,however, anew ideacausedhim tocutshorta
nightoutwithhiswifesohecouldsketchandsubmitone
more.His last-minuteentry— featuringpatrioticred,white,
andbluecolorsandanAmericanbaldeaglehoveringover the
airline’s initials—prevailedoverhundredsofotherdesigns to
become theofficial company logo.Andwhile ithascontinued
toevolve from that time, theeagle—createdonGoodrich
Murphy’scard table—has lastedmore than80yearsandhas
becomeoneof theworld’smost recognizedcorporatesymbols.
Stories like theseareasourceof pride, inspiration—and
yes, entertainment— forall ofuswhocallAmericanhome.
Butwhile80-plusyearsof anecdotesandmilestonesmake
forgood reading,weknow there’sabigdifferencebetween
historyanddestiny.Our logomaybe instantly recognizable,
but fromourearliestdays through today, theAmerican
Airlinesstoryhasalwaysbeenoneof continuous transfor-
mation—of charging forward, not lookingback.
Andof course, it’sultimatelynotourstories, but thestories
wehelpmakepossible—yourstories— thatexplain the lon-
gevityofAmericanAirlines.Thecherished familyvacations.
The triumphantbusiness trips.Theonce-in-a-lifetimeadven-
tures.Withallduerespect to theauthorRobertSerling, these
are, collectively, thereal “StoryofAmericanAirlines.”
Iwant to thankyou for lettingusbeapartofyourstory.
Whereveryouaregoing today, haveagreat trip.
