A
TheNewAmerican
ThomasW. Horton
Chairman and CEO American Airlines
©CHET SNEDDEN
SUMMER2013
celebratedliving.com
8
FROM
THECEO
Airtravel ismore
than justabusiness.
Tome, it ispartoftheAmericanper-
sonality.The freedomofmovementwe
provide—theabilitytocrossvastdis-
tances inremarkablyshortamountsof
time—speakstoour frontierhistory
andtothesenseofadventureand love
ofexplorationthatareembedded inour
country’scollectiveDNA.
Asmanyofyouknow, earlier this
yearAmericanAirlinesandUSAir-
waysannouncedplans tomerge— to
createAmerica’sflagcarrier, thenew
AmericanAirlines.Thismergerrepre-
sents thenextbigstep in theongoing
transformationofourcompany,which
amongother things includes themost
dramaticfleetupgrade inour longhis-
tory, a thoroughmodernizationof the
travelexperience, and therefreshingofour iconicbrand.
Letmetellyoua littlebitaboutwhatthismergerwillmeanto
you.First,andperhapsforemost,thecombinationofAmerican
andUSAirwayswillcreatetheairline industry’sbiggestand
bestglobalnetwork,withroughly6,700dailyflightsto336cit-
ies in56countriesaroundtheworld. IntheUnitedStates,we
willoeranunmatched levelofconnectivityandchoice,asthe
USAirwayshubs inPhiladelphia;Charlotte,NorthCarolina;
andPhoenixcombinewithAmerican’s formidablepresence in
thekeymarketsofNewYork,LosAngeles,Dallas/FortWorth,
Chicago,andMiami. Internationally, themergerwill further
strengthenourserviceacrossboththeAtlanticandthePacific,
whilebolsteringour industry-leadingposition inLatinAmeri-
caandtheCaribbean.Andofcourse, themergerwillonly
strengthenoneworld, the industry’spremierglobalalliance.
ThenewAmericanwillnotonlyprovideyouwithbetter,
easieraccess tomoreplacesaround theworld— itwillalso
deliverasuperior travelexperience.Witharock-solid founda-
tion,wewillhaveampleflexibility to invest inoneof themost
modernandecientfleets in the industry,whilesimulta-
neously investing incutting-edgetechnologyandtheproducts
andservicesyouvaluemost.Between the twoairlines,we
havemore than600brand-newaircrafton theway.
Thecombiningofourtwocompanies isobviouslygreat
news forAAdvantagemembers,who,oncethemerger iscom-
pleted,willhaveevenmoreopportunitiestoearnandredeem
milesacrossthenewAmericannetwork.Andthoseofyouwho
enjoytheservice,comfort,andamenitiesofourAdmiralsClubs
willbegladtoknowthatyouwillhaveaccesstothenetworkof
USAirwaysclubsaroundtheworldtoo.
Sowhathappensnow?Weexpectthe
mergertobecompleted inthethirdquarter
ofthisyear,andIencourageyoutovisit
aa.com/arrivingtokeepupwithourprog-
ress.Asyoucan imagine, the integrationof
oneairline intoanother isaverycomplex
process.Achievingasmoothtransition is
goingtorequiremonthsofcarefulplan-
ning, training,andhardwork frompeople
indozensofdepartmentsatbothcarriers.
Whileourplan isto integrateasquicklyas
possible,wearecommittedtogetting it
right,andthatwill takesometime.Fornow,
it’sbusinessasusual.AmericanandUSAir-
waysremainseparatecompanies,andyou
cancontinuetocountonustoprovideyou
withtheexcellentserviceandthesafe, reli-
abletravelexperienceyoudeserve.
Amongourmanyotherstrengths, Ibelieve thenewAmeri-
canwillhave thebest team—across theboard— in theairline
industry, andyoucanrestassuredeverymemberof that team
isgoing tobeworkingand thinkinghard toassureasmooth
transitionaswecreate theworld’s leadingairline.
With themergerofAmericanAirlinesandUSAirways,we
areushering inanewandexcitingera in the long,proudhisto-
ryofourcompany.AndI’mremindedofsomethingCharles
Lindbergh—who,wayback in1926,flew foroneof thesmall
carriers thateventuallymerged to formAmerican—wrote
longago: “Weactually live, today, inourdreamsofyesterday,
and living in thosedreams,wedreamagain.”
AtAmericanAirlines,wehavebigdreams, andbigplans,
for the future—andweknowyoudo too.Whereveryour
dreamsare takingyou today, Iwant to thankyou forflying
withus.Haveagreat trip!
Formore informationon themerger,pleaserefer to the
informationunder theheadings“Additional Informationand
WhereToFindIt”and“CautionaryStatementRegarding
Forward-LookingStatements”onpage86of thismagazine.
