American Airlines, Inc. (AA) is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported, passenger fleet size, and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. American operates an extensive international and domestic network, with scheduled flights throughout North America, Latin and South America, Europe, Asia/Pacific and the Caribbean.
American Airlines was listed at #120 on the Fortune 500 list of companies in 2010 and is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.
It moved its headquarters to Fort Worth in 1979, American changed its routing to a hub-and-spoke system in 1981, opening its first hubs at DFW and Chicago O'Hare. Led by its new chairman and CEO, Robert Crandall, American began flights from these hubs to Europe and Japan in the mid-1980s.
In the late 1980s, American opened three hubs for north-south traffic. San Jose International Airport was added after American purchasedAirCal. American also built a terminal and runway at Raleigh-Durham International Airport for the growing Research Triangle Park nearby and compete with USAir's hub in Charlotte. Nashville was also a hub. In 1988, American Airlines received its first Airbus A300B4-605R aircraft.
In 1990, American Airlines bought the assets of TWA's operations at London Heathrow for $445 million, giving American a hub there. The US/UK Bermuda II treaty, in effect until open skies came into effect in April 2008, barred U.S. airlines from Heathrow with the sole exceptions of American and United Airlines.
Lower fuel prices and a favorable business climate led to higher than average profits in the 1990s. The industry's expansion was not lost on pilots who on February 17, 1997 went on strike for higher wages. President Bill Clinton invoked the Railway Labor Act citing economic impact to the United States, quashing the strike. Pilots settled for wages lower than their demands.
The three new hubs were abandoned in the 1990s: some San Jose facilities were sold to Reno Air, and at Raleigh/Durham to Midway Airlines. Midway went out of business in 2001. American purchased Reno Air in February 1999 and integrated its operations on August 31, 1999, but did not resume hub operations in San Jose. American discontinued most of Reno Air's routes, and sold most of the Reno Air aircraft, as they had with Air California 12 years earlier. The only remaining route from the Air California and Reno Air purchases is San Francisco to Los Angeles.
Bridget Blaise-Shamai was named Managing Direct of Distribution and Merchandising Strategy in February 2010. In this role, Ms. Blaise-Shamai and her team set the strategy and underlying tactics to progress AA distribution and merchandising efforts consistent with our corporate objectives. Ms. Blaise-Shamai joined American in 1995 and worked in various positions in Finance, Revenue Management, and AAdvantage. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and European Studies from Vanderbilt University, and a Master of Business Administration Degree from Washington University in St. Louis.
The director of Distribution Strategy of AA says that Distribution Strategy team is responsible for how we sell our product through agencies and through the internet. The team focuses on emerging technologies and new distribution models, has responsibilities for online travel agency and meta-search agreements. The team also negotiates AA's agreements for distributing through a variety of technological intermediaries that connect to agencies, including GDSs and airline direct connects. Cory joined American in 1998, and has since enjoyed a career spanning Airport Operations, Airline Profitability Analysis, Financial Planning, Distribution Strategy, International Direct Channel Sales, and Merchandising Strategy.
Christine is responsible for management of distribution-related budgets and expense reduction initiatives. In addition, Christine manages distribution agreements, and lends overall support to the Direct Connect initiative and other distribution-related initiatives. Joining American Airlines in 2007, Christine held various positions within the Finance and Strategic Alliances departments, most recently on the Joint Business Agreement with AA's Transatlantic partners. Christine holds an M.B.A from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S.B.A. from University of Pittsburgh.
American Airlines was listed at #120 on the Fortune 500 list of companies in 2010 and is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.
It moved its headquarters to Fort Worth in 1979, American changed its routing to a hub-and-spoke system in 1981, opening its first hubs at DFW and Chicago O'Hare. Led by its new chairman and CEO, Robert Crandall, American began flights from these hubs to Europe and Japan in the mid-1980s.
In the late 1980s, American opened three hubs for north-south traffic. San Jose International Airport was added after American purchasedAirCal. American also built a terminal and runway at Raleigh-Durham International Airport for the growing Research Triangle Park nearby and compete with USAir's hub in Charlotte. Nashville was also a hub. In 1988, American Airlines received its first Airbus A300B4-605R aircraft.
In 1990, American Airlines bought the assets of TWA's operations at London Heathrow for $445 million, giving American a hub there. The US/UK Bermuda II treaty, in effect until open skies came into effect in April 2008, barred U.S. airlines from Heathrow with the sole exceptions of American and United Airlines.
Lower fuel prices and a favorable business climate led to higher than average profits in the 1990s. The industry's expansion was not lost on pilots who on February 17, 1997 went on strike for higher wages. President Bill Clinton invoked the Railway Labor Act citing economic impact to the United States, quashing the strike. Pilots settled for wages lower than their demands.
The three new hubs were abandoned in the 1990s: some San Jose facilities were sold to Reno Air, and at Raleigh/Durham to Midway Airlines. Midway went out of business in 2001. American purchased Reno Air in February 1999 and integrated its operations on August 31, 1999, but did not resume hub operations in San Jose. American discontinued most of Reno Air's routes, and sold most of the Reno Air aircraft, as they had with Air California 12 years earlier. The only remaining route from the Air California and Reno Air purchases is San Francisco to Los Angeles.
Bridget Blaise-Shamai was named Managing Direct of Distribution and Merchandising Strategy in February 2010. In this role, Ms. Blaise-Shamai and her team set the strategy and underlying tactics to progress AA distribution and merchandising efforts consistent with our corporate objectives. Ms. Blaise-Shamai joined American in 1995 and worked in various positions in Finance, Revenue Management, and AAdvantage. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and European Studies from Vanderbilt University, and a Master of Business Administration Degree from Washington University in St. Louis.
The director of Distribution Strategy of AA says that Distribution Strategy team is responsible for how we sell our product through agencies and through the internet. The team focuses on emerging technologies and new distribution models, has responsibilities for online travel agency and meta-search agreements. The team also negotiates AA's agreements for distributing through a variety of technological intermediaries that connect to agencies, including GDSs and airline direct connects. Cory joined American in 1998, and has since enjoyed a career spanning Airport Operations, Airline Profitability Analysis, Financial Planning, Distribution Strategy, International Direct Channel Sales, and Merchandising Strategy.
Christine is responsible for management of distribution-related budgets and expense reduction initiatives. In addition, Christine manages distribution agreements, and lends overall support to the Direct Connect initiative and other distribution-related initiatives. Joining American Airlines in 2007, Christine held various positions within the Finance and Strategic Alliances departments, most recently on the Joint Business Agreement with AA's Transatlantic partners. Christine holds an M.B.A from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S.B.A. from University of Pittsburgh.