American Airlines to Significantly Increase and Upgrade Its London Service

FORT WORTH, Texas, July 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Airlines, the world's largest airline, is further reinforcing its commitment to London. The airline today announced it will upgrade and increase its service to London in the coming months by moving some of its London Gatwick flights to London Heathrow Airport, as well as adding a new route between New York and London's Stansted Airport (STN), which will have significant benefits for many of American's premium business customers. As a result, American will fly as many as 20 roundtrips a day between the United States and London once all the changes are in place.

American said it will begin serving London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) from both Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Raleigh/Durham, N.C. (RDU), effective March 29, 2008. Heathrow is one of Europe's premier airports with worldwide connections for those who wish to travel beyond London.

In addition, American will begin its new route between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and London's Stansted Airport effective Oct. 28, 2007. American also said it will begin a second roundtrip between JFK and Stansted in the spring of 2008. With express train service, Stansted is convenient to London's growing financial and business districts.

American plans to switch one of its two daily DFW roundtrips to London Heathrow, while the other DFW roundtrip will retain its current service to London Gatwick. American's one daily Raleigh/Durham-to-London flight will also switch to Heathrow from Gatwick. The airline's DFW-to-London service to both Heathrow and Gatwick will continue to be flown with three-class (First, Business and Economy/Coach) Boeing 777 aircraft with 245 seats. American's Raleigh/Durham service will also continue to be flown with Boeing 777 aircraft. American's JFK-Stansted service will be flown with two-class (Business and Economy/Coach) Boeing 767-300 aircraft with 221 seats, including 30 Next Generation Business Class seats.

"These are significant schedule developments and a continuing commitment driven by the London market's importance to our customers, as well as Heathrow's worldwide connections through our oneworld(R) partners," said Gerard Arpey, American's Chairman and CEO. "This will be the first time London-bound passengers using our DFW or Raleigh/Durham gateways will be able to fly directly to Heathrow, which is London's leading airport.

"In addition, our new service to London Stansted will provide our premium travelers an alternative London airport and convenient access to growing business districts," Arpey said. "Our customers have asked for this choice of airports, and we are going to meet that need at competitive prices."

Arpey also noted that American's premium passengers will have access to a departure lounge facility at Stansted when service begins. At JFK, American offers one of the premier international arrival and departure facilities anywhere with its new $1.3 billion terminal, which features 84 ticketing positions, security checkpoints capable of handling 1,800 travelers per hour, a new U.S. Customs and Immigration facility which can handle 1,600 customers per hour, two new Admirals Club Lounges including a soon-to-open new 11,200 square foot Admirals Club in the international concourse, as well a new Flagship Lounge for international First Class passengers, with total lounge seating for 461 -- all designed to provide features that make international travel more pleasant.

In addition to the new or upgraded London services, American will continue to serve London Heathrow from New York JFK, Chicago O'Hare, Boston, Los Angeles and Miami.

Here are the tentative schedules of American's new or upgraded service to London (all times local):

Route: Service Begins: Departs: Arrives: Aircraft: JFK-STN Oct. 28, 2007 8:00 p.m. 8:15 a.m. next day Boeing 767-300 STN-JFK Oct. 29, 2007 10:15 a.m. 1:15 p.m. same day Boeing 767-300 DFW-LHR March 29, 2008 5:20 p.m. 8:25 a.m. next day Boeing 777 LHR-DFW March 30, 2008 10:15 a.m. 2:15 p.m. same day Boeing 777 RDU-LHR March 29, 2008 6:25 p.m. 6:55 a.m. next day Boeing 777 LHR-RDU March 30, 2008 11:25 a.m. 2:55 p.m. same day Boeing 777 About American Airlines

American Airlines is the world's largest airline. American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection(R) airlines serve 250 cities in over 40 countries with more than 4,000 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 1,000 aircraft. American's award-winning Web site, AA.com, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld(R) Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve nearly 700 destinations in over 140 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, the AmericanConnection(R) airlines, AA.com and AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc.

AmericanAirlines(R) We know why you fly(R) Current AMR Corp. releases can be accessed on the Internet. The address is http://www.aa.com