Jetwire - Friday, November 29, 2024

How to AA20: Self-serve booking with automatic 20% refunds on aa.com and mobile app

Retirees and their eligible travelers can now self-serve both revenue and award tickets through aa.com or the American Airlines mobile app at full price and automatically receive their 20% refund within 48 hours. In order for our systems to automatically process the 20% refund, all eligible travelers must be enrolled in AAdvantage and have their AAdvantage account information in their Travel Planner profile at least 24 hours prior to purchasing a ticket. Learn more on the Retiree site.

Ciao Italia! More service on the way for summer 2025

Start dreaming about your favorite flavor of gelato because American will offer its largest-ever schedule to Italy next year with even more new flights. Italy remains a top travel destination, and American is making it easier to visit.

• New service from ORD to Naples (NAP) begins May 6.
• New service from DFW to Venice (VCE) begins June 5.
• Recently announced service from MIA to Rome (FCO) will now start June 5 instead of July 5.
• A second-daily service between PHL and FCO will start June 5.
• And as a reminder, new service from PHL to Milan (MXP) takes off May 23.

Learn more on our Newsroom.

Brisbane beckons and Rio revels with new DFW service

American began new nonstop service from DFW to Brisbane, Australia (BNE), and Rio de Janeiro (GIG) Oct. 26. Customers were treated to snacks and photo-friendly moments with a koala mascot before heading to BNE. Latin Diversity Network Employee Business Resource Group members put on a cultural celebration with music and dance before customers boarded the flight to GIG. Once in the air, AA7, the inaugural flight between DFW and BNE, was one of the most-tracked aircraft in the world, and more than 12,000 people watched a livestream from BNE of American's arrival. As the IATA winter schedule kicked off, American also resumed additional international service to Auckland, New Zealand (AKL), and more flights to Santiago, Chile (SCL), and Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE).

Boarding technology expands

Just in time for the holiday season, we are expanding technology that supports the boarding process to more than 100 airports across the network. This technology feature ensures customers receive the benefit of boarding in their assigned group and supports team members with more visibility into the boarding process. We have successfully trialed this modern technology over the last month at Albuquerque (ABQ), DCA and Tucson (TUS), and the feedback from customers and team members has been extremely positive. Learn more on our Newsroom.

Partnering to expand access to aviation careers

American donated a $150,000 grant to Florida Memorial University (FMU) last month in support of the school's Wayman Aviation Academy, which provides access to careers in aviation for underrepresented students and develops top aviation talent. The contribution furthers American’s mission to create awareness and access to opportunities in aviation. Learn more about the partnership on our Newsroom.

Building a better LAX: New T4 concourse marks construction milestone

American opened a new south concourse at LAX Terminal 4 last month, marking an important milestone in the muti-year $1.6 billion program to modernize our LAX hub. In partnership with Los Angeles World Airports, American is on a journey to transform our LAX facilities into a world-class space for customers and team members. The new south concourse features six new gates, an improved gate area for our customers with modern seating, dynamic signage, additional concessions, larger restrooms and a bus gate that will serve international and domestic travel. Final work is underway on a new airport ticketing lobby, security checkpoint and baggage claim, which will open in early 2025. Construction at Terminals 4 and 5 will continue for the next few years and is expected to be complete in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Double the new service to Barbados

American recently launched new service to Bridgetown, Barbados (BGI) with daily service from JFK and Saturday service from PHL. American now offers BGI service from four hubs and is the largest U.S. airline operating in the country. The new BGI flights are part of eight new routes from the U.S. to the Caribbean and Latin America this winter.

New aircraft join the fleet

We took delivery of our first and second new Airbus A321neo aircraft of 2024, N470AN and N471AN, on Nov. 12 and 14, respectively. This brings our A321neo fleet to 82 total aircraft. And on Nov. 21, we took delivery of a new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, N356TX This brings our MAX fleet to 64 total aircraft, with five aircraft delivered so far this year.

Coming soon: streamlined security for AAdvantage members

In the months ahead, eligible AAdvantage members will be able to move through security in select airports with ease as part of the airline's partnership with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). We want to make travel easy for our customers at every point of their journey. This option to move seamless from the airport lobby through security will help deliver on that goal. Read more on our Newsroom.

Happy 40th birthday to American Eagle!

Nov. 1 marked 40 years since the very first American Eagle flight, operated by MetroFlight Airlines from Fayetteville, Arkansas, to DFW on a Convair 580 turboprop aircraft. In 2014, the airline rebranded as Envoy Air, one of three wholly owned regional carriers, along with Piedmont and PSA. Each operates flights under the American Eagle brand today, along with several other contract regional carriers. Envoy has been a key part of American's regional network for four decades. This anniversary celebrates its historical contributions and experience in connecting customers to destinations that larger aircraft may not serve, reinforcing its essential role in American's network. The strength of our regional network provides better schedules in more markets to better connect small communities to the world.

American hosts HBCU tech hackathon

American hosted hundreds of students from more than 30 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) for the ninth annual BE Smart Hackathon. It was the first time the event was held in Charlotte, an HBCU hub and home to the airline's second largest hub. In partnership with Black Enterprise, the event helps increase exposure to technology careers in different industries, including aviation, an important step to helping uplift students from underrepresented communities to become influential leaders in tech. Visit our a href="https://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2024/Annual-hackathon-paves-path-for-IT-students-to-join-American-Airlines-ID-BK-11/default.aspx?htm_source=Jetwire_20241129&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsroom_Retiree_Tracking" target="_blank">Newsroom to learn how American's sponsorship of the annual hackathon has resulted in more than 50 students joining IT and how Tasia's passion led her to work for American.

American lands spot on Conde Nast Traveller's Bright Ideas in Travel

American recently landed a coveted spot on the Conde Nast Traveller Bright Ideas in Travel listfor 2024 for our work on contrail avoidance. The study, carried out by Google Research, Breakthrough Energy and American, tested whether it is possible to identify atmospheric zones that are likely to create contrails. The team then determined whether pilots could avoid making contrails in flight when supplied with data regarding the location of these zones. The study found that contrail formation can be reduced more than half the time when utilizing this method. This recognition highlights American's commitment to building a more sustainable future for aviation.

Save the dates

Check out the latest and greatest upcoming company-related events using the Event Calendar. To add an event, open the calendar and select Submit an Event at the upper-right corner.