American Airlines Line Maintenance Organization Sets $95 Million Annual 'Breakthrough Goal' By End of 2008

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A team of management and Transport Workers Union (TWU) employees at 10 American Airlines Line Maintenance bases have set a "breakthrough goal" to obtain $95 million of annual value creation for the airline by the end of 2008.

More than 65 TWU and management leaders from across American Airlines met recently to identify maintenance opportunities and challenges with regard to enhancing the company's competitiveness. Danny Martinez, Vice President -- Line Maintenance, and Don Videtich, Air Transport Division Project Coordinator for TWU, spearheaded the three-day meeting in an effort to develop the processes that will enable the line maintenance organization to reach the ambitious breakthrough goal of an annual improvement of $95 million in Line Maintenance performance, primarily by cost reductions and greater revenue generation.

This target comes on the heels of similar breakthrough goals at American's Maintenance and Engineering overhaul base facilities in Fort Worth, Tulsa and Kansas City.

"A breakthrough goal is critical to American Airlines and line maintenance workers in the 10 facilities involved in the program," said Martinez. "This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to positively impact the future of American Airlines. By challenging our thinking and reinventing the way we work, and by collectively committing to our vision and goals, we are cementing the bond of working together for our future."

According to Videtich, "We needed a strategy and this offsite provided just that -- a strategy to move forward. This is the first key step in changing our work environment. Communicating with our members is the key -- we need to provide them with the facts and they will take us where we need to go -- becoming best in class."

The goal will be reached through cost reductions, additional third-party work, improved dependability by reducing delays and reducing the amount of spare aircraft for maintenance needs. The group chartered several teams on topics that are critical to achieving the goal of $95 million by the end of 2008:

1. Leadership/Incentives/Culture 2. Communications 3. Third-party work 4. Information Technology 5. Dependability 6. Inventory, Supplies and Equipment 7. Workload/Processes 8. Metrics (performance tracking)

The teams will develop a work plan for engaging and empowering front-line employees, aligning the interests of the company and the employees and achieving the goals developed by the teams.

"American Airlines, with the commitment from management and the TWU, has taken an innovative and proactive approach to control our destiny," said Devon Erriah, a Manager in Line Maintenance at New York's JFK Airport. "By engaging and giving ownership of our destiny to the workforce, we can all move together in the right direction to realize our organization's vision while providing security and stability for our families through sustained employment."

Bob Reding, American's Senior Vice President -- Technical Operations, addressed the group and reiterated his commitment to transforming American's Line Maintenance organization into a best-in-class operation.

"This is a pivotal event and an investment in our future," said Reding. "By our Line Maintenance department aligning itself with the rest of our Maintenance and Engineering organization, we are much closer to our common goal of transforming ourselves into the best-in-class aviation maintenance provider."

About American Airlines

American Airlines is the world's largest airline. American, American Eagle and AmericanConnection(R) serve 250 cities in over 40 countries with more than 4,000 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(sm) 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 Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation . AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com and AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc.

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