History of American Airlines
By 1933, American Airways operated a transcontinental route network serving 72 cities, mostly in the northeastern, midwestern, and southwestern United States.
[11] For more than eight decades, American Airlines' "signature" service has been its daily transcontinental flights between New York and Los Angeles designated as #1 (westbound) and #2 (eastbound).
[16] Vignelli attributes the introduction of his firm to American Airlines to Henry Dreyfuss, the legendary AA design consultant.
In 1966, American Airlines published a specification to manufacturers to offer a widebody aircraft smaller than Boeing 747, but capable of flying similar long-range routes from airports with shorter runways.
[21] On August 5, 1971, American's DC-10 made the type's first commercial service on a round trip flight between Los Angeles and Chicago.
On March 30, 1973, American became the first major airline to employ a female pilot when Bonnie Tiburzi was hired to fly Boeing 727s.
American Airlines has been innovative in other aspects, initiating several of the industry's major competitive developments including computer reservations systems, frequent flyer loyalty programs, and two-tier wage scales.
[citation needed] American took delivery of 19 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft starting in 1991, aiming to operate long-haul routes such as DFW-Hong Kong.
President Bill Clinton invoked the Railway Labor Act citing economic impact to the United States, quashing the strike.
During this time, concern over airline bankruptcies and falling stock prices brought a warning from American's CEO Robert Crandall.
AA was a strong backer of the Wright Amendment, which regulated commercial airline operations at Love Field in Dallas.
On June 15, 2006, American agreed with Southwest Airlines and the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth to seek repeal of the Wright Amendment on condition that Love Field remained a domestic airport and its gate capacity be limited.
[42] American's hub at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico was truncated from 38 to 18 daily inbound flights.
[47] American had repeated run-ins with the FAA regarding maintenance of its MD-80 fleet, canceling 1,000 flights to inspect wire bundles over three days in April 2008 to make sure they complied with government safety regulations.
[48] In September 2009, the Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal reported that American was accused of hiding repeated maintenance lapses on at least 16 MD-80s from the FAA.
Repair issues included such items as faulty emergency slides, improper engine coatings, incorrectly drilled holes, and other examples of shoddy workmanship.
[56][57] American began a joint venture with British Airways and Iberia Airlines in October 2010, which included frequent flyer reciprocity.
[69] In October 2014, American filed a report to the DOT to launch flights from Los Angeles to Tokyo-Haneda in place of Delta's Seattle-Tacoma operating slot,[70] sparking a war that lasted for over eight months.
American added service from Los Angeles to Beijing on November 5, 2017, and has plans for more expansion in the Asia-Pacific region in the coming years.
[76] This relates to American's "Direct Connect" fare booking system for large travel agents, which Expedia claimed might raise costs and was less transparent for passengers.
[77] The Direct Connect allows American to exert more control over its distribution, save costs, and better sell ancillary services to its customers.
[87] American notified more than 11,000 workers of possible job loss as part of its bankruptcy reorganization, and cut flights by one to two percent in September and October 2012.
[101] On November 12, the airlines reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department and several state attorneys general to settle the lawsuit and allow the merger to be finalized.
The new American also agreed to maintain operations at historical levels at its hubs in Charlotte, Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles, Miami, New York Kennedy, Philadelphia, and Phoenix for a period of three years.
[105] However, American's bankruptcy court judge refused to enjoin the two airlines from merging, saying that the group did not demonstrate that the merger would irreparably harm them.
American also added routes from Chicago to Venice and Athens during the summers of 2018 and 2019; both destinations were already operating successfully out of the Philadelphia hub.
[115][116][117] In summer 2019, American Airlines suffered significant service disruptions, due in part to the grounding of the 737 MAX, labor disputes, and poor weather.
[127] On February 28, 2022 in response to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, American indefinitely suspended its interline agreements with Russian airlines Aeroflot and S7, including its oneworld frequent flier program with S7.
[130] In September 2024, American Airlines flight attendants ratified a new five year contract, averting the threat of a labor strike.
[132] On January 29, 2025, American Airlines flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter, resulting in both crashing into the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
