American Airlines Launches New 'Food on Board' Program

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Snack Boxes Offered at $3, Sandwich $5 on More Than 600 Routes With Flying Time Longer Than Three Hours

FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- On Feb. 1, 2005, American Airlines will begin selling snack boxes at $3 and a sandwich or wrap at $5 in the main cabin on select domestic routes longer than three hours and on transcontinental and Hawaii flights. The new program is part of AA's ongoing Turnaround Plan that stresses "Fly Smart: Give Customers What They Value" and is a direct result of collaboration among employees and feedback from customers and flight attendants.

The new service will provide food options on about 500 daily non- transcontinental flights -- approximately 300 more flights than currently offer food service. In addition, the new program will be offered in place of existing main cabin food service on approximately 120 transcontinental and 40 Hawaii flights. The move will help the carrier save $30 million annually, while still providing customers with the option to have food on board on more than 600 domestic flights.

In September, American tested various food concepts. Survey results supported the idea of selling food in flight and contributed to the design of the new program, with more than half of passengers surveyed being "positive" or "very positive" about the opportunity to purchase meals on board. A large majority of passengers who purchased the $3 snack box said the snacks were a good value for the money. More than half of respondents who made the $5 snack box purchase believed it was a good value.

"We are committed to giving our customers options, so we will provide the opportunity to purchase food on more flights," said Lauri Curtis, Vice President-Onboard Service. "This will especially benefit our flights out of our mid-continent hubs at DFW and Chicago."

American will offer a $3 morning snack box from 6 a.m. to 9:59 a.m. and a $3 afternoon snack box from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The morning version will contain a Kellogg's(R) Nutri-Grain Muffin Bar, Ocean Spray(R) Craisins(R), New York Style(R) Brand(R) Mini Bagel Chips, rondele(R) cream-cheese spread and Peerless(R) Starlight Mint. The afternoon box will contain Pepperidge Farm(R) Distinctive Crackers, Sparrer's(R) gourmet beef salami slices, cheddar cheese, Delyse(R) Orchard Fruit Mix and Oreo(R) cookies.

In addition to the snack box, customers traveling on select transcontinental and Hawaii flights will be offered a freshly prepared breakfast sandwich or wrap for $5. On morning flights, a breakfast croissant sandwich with turkey, cheddar cheese, sliced hard-boiled eggs and raspberry butter will be offered. After 10 a.m., customers can purchase a turkey wrap. The wrap consists of a roasted red-pepper tortilla, spread with spinach cream cheese, lined with Romaine lettuce and filled with turkey, red bell pepper and corn.

Initially, only cash will be accepted for transactions, but American is investigating the ability to accept credit and debit cards in the future. First Class meals and alcoholic beverages will remain complimentary.

About American Airlines

American Airlines is the world's largest carrier. American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection(R) regional carriers serve more than 250 cities in over 40 countries with more than 3,800 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 1,000 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 more than 600 destinations in over 135 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation (NYSE:AMR) .

AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, , AAdvantage and Net SAAvers & Special Offers are marks of American Airlines, Inc.

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

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