American Airlines Collaborates With Chef Richard Sandoval and Chef Marcus Samuelsson to Enhance Inflight Dining Program

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- American Airlines is adding two new ingredients – Chef Richard Sandoval and Chef Marcus Samuelsson – to its inflight dining program as part of the airline's ongoing effort to enhance and differentiate the onboard travel experience.

On Oct. 1, American will begin offering signature menu items designed by Chef Sandoval onboard flights between the U.S. and Europe, Asia and Latin America in American's premium class cabins. Also beginning Oct. 1, American will debut the New American Table menu featuring original creations by Chef Samuelsson. His offerings will be available for purchase on domestic flights more than two hours in length as part of the Main Cabin dining program.

"American revolutionized the airline industry when it first introduced original menu items from some of the world's top chefs more than 20 years ago. Today, American continues to leverage the expertise of some of the most prominent and well-respected chefs to help define the direction of our inflight dining experience," said Rob Friedman, American's Vice President – Marketing. "Chef Sandoval and Chef Samuelsson – two highly-talented members of the culinary community – will further enhance the onboard travel experience for our customers by providing a broader range of options to satisfy our customers' diverse tastes."

Specializing in modern Latin cuisine, Chef Sandoval has developed fresh and innovative entrees exclusively for American Airlines using authentic Latin ingredients and international flavors. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Sandoval gained the attention of New Yorkers with the opening of Maya, his first modern Mexican restaurant. Sandoval has been recognized as Father of Modern Mexican Cuisine for his blend of traditional Mexican ingredients and contemporary cooking techniques that define Maya's cuisine. Since the opening of Maya, Chef Sandoval has applied his mantra of "old ways, new hands" to diverse Latin concepts, ranging from Coastal Mexican Cuisine at Pampano to Latin-Asian at Zengo. He was named "Restaurateur of the Year" in 2006 by Bon Appetit and today acts as Chef and Owner of Richard Sandoval Restaurants, a leading international restaurant group with more than 20 locations around the world.

Signature entrees by Chef Sandoval featured onboard American Airlines will rotate monthly and include a lemongrass marinated chicken breast with yucca puree, chayote salad with a citrus sauce and halibut with truffle corn salsa and sweet potato puree.

An award-winning chef, restaurateur and cookbook author, Chef Samuelsson enables customers to experience a unique variety of tastes and cultures through his food onboard American Airlines and also as the chef/owner of the restaurant Red Rooster Harlem located in New York City. The winner of three prestigious awards by the James Beard Foundation, he also took home the top prize on season two of the Bravo Network's Top Chef Masters and is the youngest person ever to receive a three-star rating from The New York Times.

Chef Samuelsson draws from his breadth of epicurean knowledge to incorporate bold flavors and new traditions into his recipes. Customers onboard American Airlines can enjoy his creations as part of the airline's New American Table menu available onboard select domestic flights. Menu options rotate monthly and vary by flight time, but will include a turkey and chutney sandwich – artisan-style bread spread with apple cranberry ginger chutney, topped with sliced smoked turkey breast, crisp apple slices and romaine lettuce and accompanied by Miss Vickie's® chips; and a breakfast biscuit – a buttery buttermilk biscuit topped with smoked turkey breast, sharp cheddar cheese and sliced tomato and served with Stacy's® cinnamon pita chips on the side.

In the coming months, American will continue to expand the culinary options available onboard by working with Chef Sandoval and Chef Samuelsson to create new and exciting offerings on menus throughout the aircraft.

The enhancements to the inflight dining program - an integral component of the onboard travel experience – are one example of American's commitment to improving the overall travel experience by providing products and services its customers value. For example, this month American introduced a new suite of premium class amenities on flights between the U.S. and London Heathrow and will introduce the products on all international flights Oct. 1. To view the complete collection of amenities, visit www.aa.com/flybetter.  In addition, American is outfiting its aircraft with a cutting-edge inflight entertainment experience. American is the first North American airline to launch entertainment on demand service, an inflight streaming video product, onboard its fleet of 767-200s. American will expand the service to approximately 400 Wi-Fi enabled aircraft by the end of 2012.

For more information on American's inflight dining program, please visit http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/newDining.jsp. To view chef bios and photos, visit www.aa.com/newsroom.

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. (NYSE: AMR).

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The address is http://www.aa.com

SOURCE American Airlines