FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Airlines greatly appreciates the support of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) for its immunity application and proposed Joint Business Agreement with British Airways and Iberia on service between North America and Europe. The company applauds the leadership of the APFA, which represents more than 18,000 professional flight attendants at American, for its vision in supporting an effort that will not only lead to a stronger company but will also provide competitive choices for transatlantic air travel for consumers through approval of a third, immunized, airline alliance.

The APFA joins the ranks of other organized labor groups in support of American's application, including the Transport Workers Union of America, Air Transport Division - which represents 26,000 workers at American and its subsidiary American Eagle - and workers of UNITE the Union, Branch LE/2005, which represents non-management AA employees in the United Kingdom.

In addition to receiving support from these labor groups, American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia Airlines' antitrust immunity proposal has also received the backing of 28 U.S. Senators, 135 U.S. Representatives, 41 Governors, 109 Mayors and 131 airports from around the nation. In total, more than 3,300 letters of support for the application have been written, including: letters from 615 travel related organizations; 324 economic, education and not-for-profit organizations; and 442 corporations, small business and for-profit organizations.

American remains confident that both the EU Commission and the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) will conduct a thorough assessment and ultimately will conclude that its closer collaboration with British Airways and Iberia will improve competition and benefit customers. This agreement is designed to improve opportunities for growth and to increase revenues so that all the participating airlines and airline employees will benefit. It will also offer customers access to an expanded network with more seamless service around the globe.

With the expansion and strengthening of the Star and SkyTeam alliances, American and its fellow oneworld applicants believe that antitrust immunity will allow them to compete on a level playing field. The company believes its plans for a joint business agreement with Iberia and British Airways will allow oneworld to compete on equal footing, which will benefit customers, communities, shareholders and employees. The companies' application for antitrust immunity is pending with the DOT, and they continue to discuss the benefits of their plans with regulators in the European Union.

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