American Airlines

95 years strong....

April 15, 1926, Charles Lindbergh flew the first American Airlines flight – carrying U.S. mail from St. Louis, Missouri, to Chicago, Illinois. After 8 years of mail routes, the airline began to form into what it is today. American founder C.R. Smith worked with Donald Douglas to create the DC-3; a plane that changed the entire airline industry, switching revenue sources from mail to passengers.

1930s

June 25, 1936American is the first airline to fly the DC-3 in commercial service from New York to Chicago

American Airlines - Douglas DC-3/Dakota History (dc3dakotahistory.org)


1939All American Aviation, later US Airways, is founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
June 10, 1939American begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

1940s

1945American begins operating service for the first time with American Overseas Airlines
1946American establishes its maintenance and engineering base in Tulsa, Oklahoma

1950s

1953American pioneers nonstop transcontinental service across the U.S. with the Douglas DC-7
1957American opens the world’s first special facility for flight attendant training, the American Airlines Stewardess College, in Dallas/Fort Worth
January 1959American introduces the Lockheed Electra, the first U.S.-designed turboprop plane

1960s

December 3, 1964American hires Dave Harris, the first African-American pilot for a commercial airline

1970s

January 1970American merges with Trans Caribbean Airways, gaining Caribbean routes

1980s

May 1, 1981American introduces AAdvantage®, the first airline loyalty program

August 1, 1983America West commences operations in Tempe, Arizona
November 1, 1984American introduces the American Eagle system

December 20, 1989American announces plans to expand its Latin American service with routes from Eastern Airlines

1990s

March 27, 1991American celebrates its 1 billionth customer
July 1, 1997All American flights become nonsmoking

2000s

January 10, 2001American announces plans to acquire Trans World Airlines assets
September 11, 2001American tragically loses 23 people, including pilots, flight attendants and family members, in the events surrounding Flights 11 and 77
September 27, 2005US Airways merges with America West

November 13, 2008American introduces mobile boarding passes

2010s

December 9, 2013AMR Corporation and US Airways Group officially form the American Airlines Group
March 20, 2015American Airlines Group is added to the S&P 500 index
May 7, 2015American flies its first revenue flight with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner
August 15, 2015American's Robert W. Baker Integrated Operations Center opens in Fort Worth

October 16, 2015US Airways flies its last flight, Flight 1939
October 17, 2015American and US Airways begin operating as one airline with a Single Passenger Service System
April 15, 2016American celebrates its 90th birthday
January 17, 2017Air Transport World names American its 2017 Airline of the Year
September 4, 2019American retires the last of its MD-80 aircraft after 36 years as the workhorse of the airline's fleet