American Airlines

History of American Airlines

American's roots go back to 1926, when Charles Lindbergh flew airmail from Chicago to St Louis for Robertson Aircraft Corporation, one of many small carriers later combined into American Airways around 1930. After the Air Mail Act of 1934 the company was reorganised as American Airlines, and in 1936 it became the first airline to fly the Douglas DC-3 in commercial service.

American launched the industry's first airline loyalty programme, AAdvantage, in 1981, and in 1999 it co-founded the oneworld alliance. In 2013 AMR Corporation and US Airways Group combined to form American Airlines Group, and in 2015 the two airlines began operating on a single passenger service system.

American was one of the most aggressive airlines in moving agency sales to NDC. In April 2023 it pulled a large share of its fares from EDIFACT GDS channels, more than 40% according to the American Society of Travel Agents, and in 2024 it limited loyalty earning on some agency bookings. American later said these changes contributed to softer bookings and reversed many of them late in the second quarter of 2024.

Fleet

Aircraft types in service as of 2026

American had 977 mainline aircraft at 31 December 2024, according to its annual report. Its website lists Airbus A319, A320, A321, A321neo and A321XLR, and Boeing 737-800, 737 MAX 8, 777-200, 777-300ER, 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft, with CRJ and Embraer jets flown by American Eagle regional partners.

Network and hubs

American's hubs are Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C., with Dallas/Fort Worth the largest. With American Eagle partners it serves more than 350 destinations in over 60 countries.

Miami anchors a large Latin America and Caribbean network. Across the Atlantic, American runs a joint business with British Airways, Iberia and Finnair, and oneworld partners extend its reach in Asia, the Pacific and the Middle East.