American Airlines Launches New Flight Between Chicago O'Hare and Beijing, China

CHICAGO, May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Airlines today launches its first flight between Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport, one of the world's busiest airports.

"Our new service to and from Beijing is an important milestone for our company and our customers.  We long have wanted to institute Beijing service to complement our flights between Chicago to Shanghai Pudong International Airport, which began in 2006, in order to meet passenger expectations and to expand our route network," said Virasb Vahidi, American's Senior Vice President – Planning. "This new route also enhances American's cornerstone network strategy that bolsters our presence in the five key markets of Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, New York and Los Angeles.  Of these, our Chicago hub is our premier 'Gateway to Asia and the Pacific' with daily flights to Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai and now Beijing."

"American is a sponsor of the USA Pavilion at the World Expo being held in Shanghai this summer, and our participation is designed to strengthen the bonds between the people of the United States and China," said Craig Kreeger, American's Senior Vice President – International. "This new route to Beijing will do so as well."

"China and the United States are two highly, mutually-complementary markets containing enormous business opportunities," said The Honorable Ping Huang, the former Chinese Consul General in Chicago. "The coming take-off of the flight is just opportune and will, in turn, inject fresh impetus into the ever deepening and expanding Sino-U.S. relations and bring great benefits to the people of our two countries."

The Beijing flight will be flown with a Boeing 777, featuring 14 First Class, 37 Business Class and 194 Economy seats.

Employee Involvement

American's Asian Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group (APIERG) has been working with Shanghai, Tokyo, Chicago, Los Angeles, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Fort Worth, Texas-based employees to plan and prepare for the new Beijing flight – from menu design, Chinese language and culture consulting, sales and other pre-launch activities.

Food

American has collaborated with celebrity chef Sam Choy to create new Asian-fusion menu items that will be featured on the new flights between Chicago and Beijing. The new, enhanced menus artfully blend the deep traditions of Chinese cuisine with the flavors of Western fare.  Chef Choy is a four-time nominee for the James Beard Best Pacific Regional chef award.  American has utilized Choy's culinary expertise by collaborating with him to design premium class menus for Hawaii flights in 2007 and for flights between the U.S. and Tokyo this February.

Inflight Amenities

American will have Mandarin-speaking flight attendants on each flight and premium passengers will be able to read a host of different newspapers while on board the aircraft, including the Wall Street Journal Asia, USA Today Asia, and the Beijing Morning Post. Additionally, two Chinese movies in Mandarin will be available for viewing: The Rebellion and Storm Warriors. In various cabins, American also will offer six films with Chinese subtitles: Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, The Invention of Lying, The Blind Side, Michael Jackson's This Is It, and Planet 51.

AAdvantage® Bonus Mile Promotion

AAdvantage members who fly round trip from Chicago to Beijing between May 25, 2010, and Aug. 31, 2010, can earn 15,000 AAdvantage bonus miles for travel on First Class or Business Class tickets, or up to 10,000 AAdvantage bonus miles for travel in Economy class.  Customers need to register prior to travel to qualify.  To register and obtain more details visit: http://www.aa.com/offers.

Virtual Tour and AA.com

American, a founding member of the oneworld® Alliance, offers three-class service to Beijing on its Boeing 777 aircraft. For a virtual tour of American's First and Business Class seats, go to www.aa.com/flagship. For more information on American's service to Beijing, go to www.aa.com/china. For video tours, customer photos, and message board postings on Beijing, visit www.aa.com/milestones. Customers making reservations can do so on AA.com or by calling American Airlines reservations at 800-433-7300 or 800-492-8095 (Chinese).

About the AAdvantage Program

The AAdvantage program was the first frequent flyer program. Established in 1981, the program now has more than 62 million members. Members can earn miles at more than 1,000 participating companies, which include more than 30 hotel chains representing more than 60 brands, more than 20 airlines, eight car-rental companies, 10 financial companies, and over 350 brand name retailers. In addition, members can earn miles when making purchases with one of more than 100 affinity card products in over 40 countries. In 2009, AAdvantage members redeemed more than 150 billion miles to claim more than 6.9 million awards for flights, upgrades and car rentals. For more information and a listing of AAdvantage program participating companies, visit www.aa.com/aadvantage.

About American Airlines

American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection® serve 250 cities in 40 countries with, on average, more than 3,400 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 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® 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 more than 130 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, We know why you fly and AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR)

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SOURCE American Airlines