American Airlines Applauds the Obama Administration's Actions to Promote Travel and Tourism

FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- American Airlines today applauded the Obama Administration's initiatives to increase travel and tourism to the United States and within our nation's borders.

"The initiatives set forth and outlined today by the Obama Administration will definitely benefit all who work in the nation's travel and tourism industry, which can only add jobs and strengthen the economy," said Tom Horton, American's Chairman and CEO. "President Obama is to be commended for his leadership in this effort.

"We have long advocated for enhancements to the distribution of non-immigrant visas in such important emerging markets as Brazil and China and have told the Administration that improving the process will not only allow more tourists to visit but create travel and tourism jobs in the United States. Increasing non-immigrant visa capacity in China and Brazil by 40 percent and ensuring that 80 percent of those applicants interviewed receive their visas within three weeks is a laudable goal," said Horton.

"Additionally, the new pilot program that was announced to simplify and expedite the non-immigrant visa process for certain applicants and the opportunity for low-risk applicants to have visa interviews waived is exciting news.

"We also applaud the Administration for its initiative to expand the Visa Waiver Program to include more participants and assist more travelers through an expansion of trusted traveler programs such as the Global Entry program, which truly enhances the customer experience when passengers are able to expedite customs and immigration processing," Horton added.

"Creating a task force to recommend ways to promote domestic and international travel opportunities for U.S. citizens and promoting visits to our nation's parks, wildlife refuges, cultural and historic sites also will have a positive effect on the transportation industry," said Horton.

American operates a daily flight to Beijing and Shanghai from its cornerstone hub in Chicago and a daily flight to Shanghai from Los Angeles. American also operates flights from Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami and New York JFK each day to Brazil. American serves Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Salvador Bahia, Recife and Belo Horizonte in Brazil.

About American Airlines
American Airlines, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection^® carrier serve 260 airports in more than 50 countries and territories with, on average, more than 3,400 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft. American's award-winning website, 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^® 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 and members-elect serve more than 900 destinations with more than 10,000 daily flights to 149 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, and AAdvantage are trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. AMR Corporation common stock trades under the symbol "AAMRQ" on the OTCQB marketplace, operated by OTC Markets Group.

AMR Corporation, and certain of its United States-based subsidiaries, including American Airlines, Inc. and AMR Eagle Holding Corporation, on Nov. 29 filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. More information about the Chapter 11 filing is available on the Internet at http://aa.com/restructuring.

Current AMR Corp. news releases can be accessed at http://www.aa.com

SOURCE American Airlines