American Airlines

American Airlines started in 1930 as American Airways, a company built by joining dozens of small carriers. One of them was Robertson Aircraft Corporation, where Charles Lindbergh had flown the mail. In 1934 the airline was reorganized as American Airlines under C.R. Smith. Working with Donald Douglas, it helped develop the DC-3, the plane that first made carrying passengers profitable for airlines.

In 1939 American opened the world's first airline lounge, the Admirals Club, at New York LaGuardia. It flew the first coast-to-coast jet service in 1959 using the Boeing 707. In the early 1960s it worked with IBM to launch SABRE, an early computer system for booking seats. Under boss Robert Crandall, American perfected the hub-and-spoke model at Dallas/Fort Worth, meaning most flights connect through one big airport.

In 1981 American created AAdvantage, the world's first modern frequent-flyer program, which rewards people who fly often. American bought TWA, the historic transatlantic pioneer, in 2001. Parent company AMR filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and merged with US Airways in December 2013, creating the world's largest airline. American helped found the oneworld alliance in 1999. Its hubs are Dallas/Fort Worth, Charlotte, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Washington, and Los Angeles.

American flies the largest fleet in the world, with roughly 980 mainline jets, and runs more daily departures than any other airline. Domestic flying leans on huge groups of Boeing 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s plus the Airbus A319, A320, and A321, including more and more A321neos.

Long routes use Boeing 777-200ERs and 777-300ERs along with 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliners. The A330s, 757s, and 767s were retired during the pandemic.

Orders cover more 787s, 737 MAX 10s, A321neos, and the long-range A321XLR for Atlantic flights. Regional partner American Eagle adds hundreds of Embraer 170/175 and Bombardier CRJ aircraft.