American Airlines will break ground soon on a new 15,000+-square-foot Admirals Club at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). The lounge can seat more than 250 customers, making it the largest airport lounge in Austin, Texas. Construction on the new lounge, which will be near Gate 14, will begin next year.

The inspiration for the lounge is taken from the city itself, reflecting the urban fabric of Rainey Street, Austin Parks, local art and music. Customers can get a taste of the Austin vibe throughout their experience in the Admirals Club. Once open, customers will also be entertained by local musicians.

Inspiration used in designing the new AUS Admirals Club. Rendering is subject to change as design strategy is not yet final.

The existing Admirals Club will remain fully operational while the new club is being constructed. More information, including the opening date, will be shared at a later date.

American’s Admirals Club lounges are membership-based lounges that include access to more than 60 Admirals Clubs and partner lounges worldwide. Customers traveling on an American Airlines or oneworld alliance® ticketed flight may also purchase a day pass to an Admirals Club. Admirals Club lounges feature complimentary amenities like food and beverages, Wi-Fi, digital magazines and newspapers as well as services like personal travel assistance, business centers and kids rooms.

Growth in Austin

American, the largest airline in Texas, continues to expand in Austin alongside the region’s exponential growth. Over the last year, American has added more than 25 new nonstop routes to and from Austin and its partnerships with airlines like British Airways, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines have provided even more ways to connect from Austin to around the world.

American Airlines is planning to cut 27 routes in early 2022, mostly serving New York City according to The Points Guy:

Routes to be cut:

From Boston:

Raleigh-Durham effective January 4, 2022

From Charlotte:

Champaign/Urbana, IL effective April 5, 2022

Toledo effective April 5, 2022

From Chicago (O’Hare):

Charlottesville, VA effective April 5, 2022

From New York-LaGuardia:

Asheville effective March 27, 2022

Bangor effective January 4, 2022

Boston effective January 4, 2022

Charleston, SC effective January 4, 2022

Martha’s Vineyard effective June 17, 2022

Myrtle Beach, SC effective June 2, 2022

Nantucket effective June 17, 2022

Orlando effective January 4, 2022

Pensacola effective May 5, 2022

Philadelphia effective January 4, 2022

Portland, ME effective January 4, 2022

Savannah effective June 3, 2022

Traverse City, MI effective June 2, 2022

From New York-JFK:

Liberia, Costa Rica effective April 5, 2022

Montreal effective January 4, 2022

San Antonio effective January 4, 2022

San Jose, Costa Rica effective April 5, 2022

Toronto (Pearson) effective January 4, 2022

From Philadelphia:

Baltimore effective April 5, 2022

Charleston, WV effective April 5, 2022

Ottawa effective April 5, 2022

From Phoenix:

Vancouver effective April 5, 2022

Calgary effective April 5, 2022

American Airlines is welcoming back travelers from around the world with its robust international schedule of flights to and from the United States. To help customers plan, prepare and travel with confidence, American’s Prepared for the Air resources and Ready to Fly checklist now offer a full suite of tools for customers.

Book with confidence

Customers can visit Prepared for the Air as they start planning their trips. This includes an interactive map that highlights travel guidelines for destinations around the world. With one click, travelers can view their potential destination’s vaccination or testing requirements and then seamlessly book travel. They can also see nearby locations where testing is offered or choose to select one of American’s convenient at-home testing partners, to make their trip planning easier.

Ready to Fly checklist

Once tickets are booked, customers traveling internationally will automatically see American’s Ready to Fly checklist when viewing their eligible reservations on aa.com and the American Airlines mobile app. Ready to Fly outlines everything customers need for their specific itinerary, including test and vaccination requirements, along with their options to submit digital documentation such as vaccination records, testing results, any required government attestations and contact tracing information.

Ready to Fly also includes links to the VeriFLY app developed by American’s mobile health partner Daon to help customers verify they’ve met all necessary travel requirements. The VeriFLY app simplifies travel by allowing customers to enter their origin and destination, guides them through the necessary travel requirements, and helps ensure they are ready to travel. Customers can upload documentation of their fulfilled requirements directly to the app, which then validates that the documents match a country’s requirements and displays a simple pass or fail message. With a pass message, customers can check-in online at aa.com or the American Airlines mobile app.

These digital options can save customers valuable time while traveling and give them the peace of mind that they are ready to fly before they head to the airport.

Travel with ease

Many onboard service elements will return to Flagship First® and Flagship Business® on international, transcontinental and Hawaii routes starting Nov. 10. Premium cabin customers will once again be able to enjoy coursed meal service, pre-departure beverages, ice cream sundaes and espresso service.

Throughout the summer and fall, American enhanced its robust and free inflight entertainment, adding a Lifestyle channel where customers can choose from a collection of more than 150 creative, productivity or language classes. This offering includes Rosetta Stone, where customers can learn Spanish, Italian, French, German, Japanese, and other languages while in flight.

Before customers jet-set, there are several ways to unwind. Flagship Lounges, which began reopening in September 2021, offer a luxurious setting for eligible customers to enjoy new menus designed by local James Beard Foundation chefs, personalized service, specialty cocktails and premium wines.

Locations at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Miami International Airport (MIA) were the first to welcome customers back to American’s most exclusive lounge, with the remaining three Flagship Lounges at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) reopening soon.

American has also reopened its Admirals Club lounges in all U.S. and select international locations. Customers traveling on an American or oneworld alliance® ticketed flight may also purchase a membership or day pass to an Admiral’s Club.

The best network to the United Kingdom, Spain and Brazil

On Nov. 8, American will have more than 150 international inbound flights arriving in the United States, including nearly 20 transatlantic flights. Demand on flights from LHR and Brazil are nearly 70% higher this week than the week prior. The number of international point-of-sale customers traveling in the coming week post-entry restrictions is four times higher than the week prior. Throughout the month, American will operate more than 200 daily flights on nearly 200 routes to international destinations with those numbers climbing to nearly 300 daily international flights at the beginning of 2022.

American’s customers headed to Europe this winter continue filling flights to the United Kingdom and Spain where the carrier and its oneworld and Atlantic Joint Business partners offer more flights to the two countries than any other airline alliance. This includes nearly six times more flights between the U.S. and the U.K. and almost three times as many flights between the U.S. and Spain. American will also be restarting its service between DFW and Paris (CDG), as well as DFW and Madrid (MAD), earlier than expected due to increased demand. Both flights now begin on Dec. 16.

For customers seeking a warm winter getaway, Brazil tops the list. American and its partners deliver more flights to Brazil than any alliance. This weekend, American added more service between the United States and Brazil to meet the growing demand. The carrier added a second daily flight between MIA and Rio de Janeiro (GIG) in February, just in time for Carnival. Next year, customers will also have a third daily flight between MIA and Sao Paulo (GRU) to choose from in January, February, and March, and daily service between DFW and GRU in January and February. American is the largest carrier with the most flights throughout Latin America offering nearly 30% more flights to the region than it did in 2019.

From CNN:

“American Airlines canceled hundreds of flights during the weekend, citing bad weather and staffing shortages, the company announced in a statement.”

https://www.msn.com/en-US/news/news/american-airlines-cancels-hundreds-of-flights-during-halloween-weekend/ar-AAQ8H4E?ocid=BingNewsSearch

American Airlines made this announcement:

• American is eliminating complicated elite qualifying metrics, introducing Loyalty Points where one qualifying AAdvantage® mile earned equals one Loyalty Point.
• In a newly redesigned loyalty program, AAdvantage members can earn status by flying, using an AAdvantage credit card or spending with an AAdvantage partner.
• Members can unlock Loyalty Choice Rewards when they earn Platinum Pro status or higher and fly at least 30 flights on American or qualifying partner airlines.

American Airlines is redesigning its award-winning AAdvantage® loyalty program, ridding it of complicated elite qualifying metrics for an easy-to-understand point system that provides multiple ways to earn status. In 2022, AAdvantage members can earn status by flying, using an AAdvantage credit card for purchases or spending with an AAdvantage partner.

“Loyalty should be simple, and we have reimagined our AAdvantage program to a single point system that provides a clear path to earning status for our members,” said Chief Customer Officer Alison Taylor. “For our loyal members, the message is simple: Earn AAdvantage miles, earn status — whether that’s by flying on American or by spending on everyday activities. We thank our members for their continued loyalty and look forward to this renewed relationship as we enter 2022.”

Achieving AAdvantage status

For every qualifying AAdvantage mile earned, members will earn one Loyalty Point. Here’s how to earn points:

• Members can earn Loyalty Points by flying on American or one of its eligible partner airlines.
• You can also earn Loyalty Points when you use an AAdvantage credit card for purchases.
• Don’t fly often, no problem. Join fellow AAdvantage members who will earn Loyalty Points every year just by shopping online or dining out.

AAdvantage 2022 status requirements

Extending status and a chance to double dip

To thank our members for their continued loyalty, American is extending all current members AAdvantage status through March 31, 2022.

And members can also double dip as any qualifying activity earned in January and February will count towards both 2022 and 2023 AAdvantage status. This gives members an extra two months to earn elite status for both years.

In the future, members will qualify for status from March through February, with status valid through March 31 of the following year.

Unlock Loyalty Choice Rewards

Next year, AAdvantage members can unlock Loyalty Choice Rewards, formerly called elite choice rewards. Loyalty Choice Rewards is a menu of rewards awarded to members that earn Platinum Pro status or higher and fly at least 30 flights on American or qualifying partner airlines.

Members can select the Loyalty Choice Reward they value the most, including an Admirals Club day pass, systemwide upgrades or bonus AAdvantage miles. Additional Loyalty Choice Rewards are available to unlock as members accrue more Loyalty Points.

American Airlines Group Inc. today reported its third-quarter 2021 financial results, including:

• Third-quarter net profit of $169 million, or $0.25 per diluted share. Excluding net special items¹, third-quarter net loss of $641 million, or ($0.99) per share.
• Third-quarter revenue of $9.0 billion, up 20% sequentially from the second quarter of 2021.
• Ended the third quarter with approximately $18 billion of total available liquidity, after prepayment of $950 million spare parts term loan during the quarter.
• Company continues to expect robust demand during peak travel periods in the fourth quarter, with more than 6,000 peak day departures.
• Company continues to execute on its plan to pay down approximately $15 billion of debt by the end of 2025.

“The American Airlines team continues to demonstrate its resilience and ability to execute, enabling us to deliver our best quarter since the pandemic began as measured by pre-tax financial results,” said American’s Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. “While the rise of the COVID-19 delta variant delayed some of our revenue recovery, it has not stopped our progress. We are incredibly proud of the team’s hard work to operate a great airline, and with the network, cost and fleet simplification actions we have taken, we’re confident American is well-positioned as the recovery takes hold.”

American is committed to strengthening its business and returning to profitability by focusing on its three strategic objectives: Create a world-class customer experience, make culture a competitive advantage and build American to thrive forever.

To create a world-class customer experience, American:

• Reopened its industry-leading premium Flagship Lounges at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Miami International Airport, with new chefs and creative menus in partnership with the James Beard Foundation.
• Introduced free access to live sports and news, 24/7, on the airline’s domestic narrowbody aircraft. American has the fastest Wi-Fi on more aircraft than any other carrier.
• Was recognized by the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) as Airline Partner of the Year for the third year in a row for its work supporting travel advisors. ASTA is the world’s largest association of travel professionals and strives to promote excellence within the travel industry, while recognizing professionals who make lasting contributions to the industry.
• Announced a new codeshare agreement with IndiGo, India’s leading airline. The agreement will place American’s code on 29 IndiGo domestic routes in India, providing a convenient option for customers arriving on American’s new Bengaluru (BLR) and Delhi (DEL) flights.
• Signed letters of intent to establish a partnership with JetSMART and expand its partnership with GOL to build on its strong South American network and increase long-haul flying. Both transactions are subject to the completion of definitive documents and certain regulatory approvals.

To make culture a competitive advantage, American:

• Operated 26 missions as part of the U.S. Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) program, aiding in the effort to bring thousands of evacuees from Afghanistan to the U.S. Team members throughout the airline and around the world came together to support American’s CRAF activation.
• Delivered 4.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Guatemala as part of the White House’s plan to share at least 80 million U.S. vaccine doses globally this summer.
• Was named to the Seramount 2021 Inclusion Index, which recognizes organizations for their efforts to create an inclusive workplace. Seramount evaluates nearly 200 organizations and helps them understand trends and gaps in demographic representation and identify diversity, equity and inclusion solutions to close the gaps.
• Received a top score of 100 on the Disability Equality Index (DEI) and was named one of the best places to work for disability inclusion in 2021. The DEI was launched in 2015 by Disability:IN and The American Association of People with Disabilities and is acknowledged as the most robust disability inclusion assessment tool in business.

To build American to thrive forever, American:

• Announced that it is an anchor partner to Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, committing to invest $100 million in a groundbreaking collaborative effort to accelerate the clean energy technologies necessary for achieving a net zero economy by 2050. Breakthrough Energy Catalyst is a first-of-its-kind model that brings together companies, governments, and private philanthropy to accelerate the adoption of critical, next-generation clean technologies.
• Committed to develop a science-based target for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, supporting the airline’s existing commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. American also agreed to terms to purchase carbon-neutral sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced by Prometheus Fuels, which uses a novel process to make net-zero carbon transportation fuels, including SAF.

Northeast Alliance

American and JetBlue continue to roll out benefits to create a seamless customer experience. AAdvantage^® and TrueBlue Mosaic members now receive their elite benefits, including priority check-in, priority baggage, priority security and priority boarding, when traveling on both airlines. American also expects to introduce AAdvantage award redemption on JetBlue soon.

Since January, American and JetBlue have brought more service to customers in New York and Boston, including 58 new routes, increased frequencies on more than 130 routes and codesharing on 175 routes. The alliance is connecting the Northeast to almost 150 global destinations, including 10 new international routes on American. These routes, made possible by the Northeast Alliance, include new services from JFK to Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV); Athens, Greece (ATH); and Delhi (DEL).

Liquidity and balance sheet

American ended the third quarter with approximately $18 billion of total available liquidity. During the quarter, the Company announced its intention to reduce its debt by $15 billion by the end of 2025. American plans to accomplish this through naturally occurring amortization and by using excess cash and free cash flow to pay down prepayable debt. As part of that plan, the Company prepaid in full its $950 million spare parts term loan facility in the third quarter. In addition, during the third quarter, American had scheduled debt amortization payments of approximately $649 million and unencumbered 20 Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

Notes

See the accompanying notes in the Financial Tables section of this press release for further explanation, including a reconciliation of all GAAP to non-GAAP financial information.

¹The Company recognized $1.04 billion of net special credits before the effect of taxes in the third quarter of 2021 principally related to the financial assistance received pursuant to Payroll Support Program Agreements with the U.S. Department of Treasury.

²American is unable to reconcile certain forward-looking projections to GAAP, as the nature or amount of net special items cannot be determined at this time.