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developments andbenefits from
AmericanAirlines.
DOUG PARKER
ChairmanandCEO
AmericanAirlines
PERSPECTIVE
CELEBRATING25YEARS
OFTHEMIAMIHUB
T
WENTY-FIVEYEARSAGO
, American
Airlinesmade thebolddecision
to turn itsMiami operations intoa
major connectinghubandpremier
international gateway. Theairline’s
leaders at the timehad the foresight to
purchaseEasternAirlines’ LatinAmerica
routenetworkanduse it as the founda-
tion for avastlyexpandedpresenceat
Miami International Airport.Miami’s stra-
tegic location, the strengthof the commu-
nityand itshistorical ties to theAmericas
wouldhelpmakeAmerican’snewhub
operationanoutstanding success.
Americanquickly catapulted to the
topU.S. airline servingLatinAmerica,
withmore flights from theU.S. tomore
destinations thananyother carrier. Today,
American connectsMiami to 123destina-
tions around theworld—more than 100
of themnot servedbyanyother domestic
carrier at theairport—witha robust
scheduleof 339 flights aday.
Theopeningof theMiami hub isoneof
themost extraordinary success stories in
thehistoryof commercial aviation. Before
1989, our presence inMiamiwasquite
modest,with just 19 flightsper day.Most
people forget that althoughAmerican
hasbeen inbusiness since 1926, it didn’t
start serving the cityuntil 1979.We thank
the leaders atAmericanandMiami-Dade
County for their vision, their passionand
their ability to recognize theeconomic
potential of theMiami hub.
Today,Miami has secured its rightful
titleas capital of theAmericas. It
routesmore travelers and cargo toLatin
Americaand theCaribbean thanany
other airport in the country. And, the
Miami hubpumpsbillions annually into
theSouthFloridaeconomy.
If youhaven’t seen it yet, our state-
of-the-artNorthTerminal atMIA features
bright andairy concourses, spacious
newgates, bigger concessionareas, an
automatedpeople-mover systemandone
mileofmoving sidewalks.
AsourMiami facilities, networkand
operationhavegrown, so toohasour
team— from fewer than300employees
25years ago tomore than 11,000 today,
makingour companyoneof the largest
privateemployers inSouthFlorida. Last
year alone, Americanadded270home-
based reservations agents, 455pilots and
174 flight attendantsbased inMiami.
Iwant to thankall of ourMiami-based
employees, aswell as the local com-
munityandour customers, for helping
tomakeSouthFloridaabetter andmore
rewardingplace for everyone. Aswe
celebrate theMiami hub’s25thanniver-
sary, American isproud to renewour
commitment to thisvibrant community,
enhancedbyour new service fromMiami
toCap-Haitien, Haiti (asofOct. 2, 2014)
andCampinas, Brazil (asofDec. 2, 2014).
Onbehalf of theentireAmerican fam-
ilyof 100,000employees, thankyou for
flyingwithus today.We look forward to
seeingyouona flightwithus again soon.
CHESWICKPHOTOGRAPHY
WINTER
AA.COM CELEBRATEDLIVING
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