American Airlines Sets the Record Straight on Virgin Atlantic's Frivolous and Misguided Claims

American Airlines Sets the Record Straight on Virgin Atlantic's Frivolous and
Misguided Claims
American Airlines today issued the following statement in response to a Virgin
Atlantic filing made today with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

FORT WORTH, Texas, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Once again, Virgin's
comments are long on accusations and rhetoric and short on the facts.
American is opposed to a Delta-Japan Airlines (JAL) tie-up for the same reason
we are confident our transatlantic immunity application will be approved: to
preserve and enhance competition.

SkyTeam with a Delta-JAL combination would account for nearly 60 percent of
U.S.-Tokyo passengers, as opposed to oneworld's approximate 44 percent share
of U.S.-London passengers. AA and British Airways only account for about 40
percent of U.S.-U.K. traffic, whereas Delta-JAL would consolidate the
positions of the two largest U.S.-Japan carriers with more than 60 percent
share of U.S.-Japan passengers, leaving oneworld with just a 6 percent share.

In addition, significant competition will remain after AA and BA receive
immunity, as 78 percent of travelers on city pairs where AA and BA both
provide nonstop service would continue to have three or more competitive
options. Just 27 percent of passengers on city pairs where Delta and JAL
overlap would continue to have three or more competitors for transpacific
service.

The bottom line is we're aiming to level the playing field for alliance
competition in the transatlantic market and to prevent an unlevel field for
alliance competition from evolving in the transpacific.

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)

AmericanAirlines® We know why you fly®
Current AMR Corp. releases can be accessed on the Internet.
The address is http://www.aa.com

SOURCE American Airlines

Andrew Backover or Charley Wilson, Corporate Communications, +1-817-967-1577,
mediarelations@aa.com, both of American Airlines