American Airlines : Continues Investment In Los Angeles With The Most Hollywood-to-Heathrow Service And Best-in-Class Premium Customer Offerings

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On any given day of the year, customers of American Airlines will have the most daily, direct service between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR) when the world's largest airline adds more service between the two cities beginning in March 2015. The new flight will be operated with the latest addition to American's international fleet, the state-of-the-art, three-class Boeing 777-300ER. This added service is just the latest example of American's continued focus on the travel needs of the airline's customers in Southern California.

"As the premier airline in Los Angeles, this additional frequency to London caters to our high-end Los Angeles-area customers," said Andrew Nocella, American's senior vice president and chief marketing officer. "These customers demand a world-class travel experience including true First and Business Class cabins on modern aircraft serving the best network at LAX. With new airplanes and more inflight Wi-Fi and entertainment options, demand for our LAX service is without peer. American will continue to offer our Los Angeles customers the most robust list of exclusive products to enhance their travel experience as we proudly serve the leading destinations from LAX."

With four daily direct flights to London Heathrow - two operated by American with its flagship 777-300ER and two by American's Atlantic joint business partner British Airways with its luxurious Airbus A380 - American's customers will have the most travel options to London from Los Angeles throughout the year.

LAX-LHR (four times per day, year round, all times local)

The new 5:55 p.m. LAX to LHR nonstop begins on March 28, 2015, and customers may begin booking travel on this flight on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014. All four flights feature a three-class configuration, with more than 60 fully lie-flat First and Business Class seats and products aimed to elevate the customer experience in every cabin. The 777-300ER features all-aisle access and a walk-up bar in the premium cabin, Main Cabin Extra seating provides more legroom and all seats feature personal, in-seat entertainment screens with up to 250 movies, over 180 TV programs and more than 350 audio selections, international Wi-Fi capability and universal AC power outlets and USB ports.

World's Largest Airline Offers Most Robust Network

With nearly 200 daily departures operated by the youngest fleet of the global network carriers in the U.S., the only three-class transcontinental service, unmatched customer service on the ground and in the air and more than eight decades of experience serving Los Angeles, American Airlines has a rich history as Southern California's premier airline to domestic and international destinations. 

American is adding new aircraft and new service into markets which cater to a wide breadth of industries - entertainment, banking and finance, energy, technology, manufacturing, among others - to best meet the flying needs of the second largest air travel market in the U.S. This includes direct service to all of American's hubs with the most nonstop flights from LAX to New York (JFK), Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C (DCA), Phoenix and Charlotte, N.C.

During 2014, American has expanded its LAX hub with new twice-daily service to Vancouver, Canada (YVR), daily nonstop service to Edmonton, Canada (YEG) and San Antonio, Texas (SAT). American launches new daily nonstop service to Tampa, Florida (TPA), on Nov. 5 and three daily nonstop flights to Atlanta (ATL) on March 5, 2015. With these new destinations, American will serve 55 domestic and international destinations from LAX. Earlier this month, American also submitted a motion to the U.S. Department of Transportation asking it to reallocate an underutilized U.S.-Tokyo Haneda (HND) frequency to American, which American would use to operate year-round service between LAX and HND.

American's customers have more opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer awards and join attractive corporate sales programs with its Pacific joint business partner Japan Airlines (JAL), in addition to Atlantic joint business partners British Airways, Iberia and Finnair. American's joint businesses allow it to coordinate schedules with its partners, offering customers more convenient departure and arrival times, increased frequencies and smoother international connections to global business and leisure destinations such as Tokyo, Madrid, Shanghai and Sao Paulo.

As a member of oneworld®, American's customers can fly to 16 nonstop international destinations on five continents from LAX, including Brisbane, Dusseldorf, Hong Kong, Lima, Melbourne, Sydney and Osaka. The oneworld alliance holds an unprecedented six of the eight most competitive "best airline alliance" titles from top travel media and award organizations.

The Youngest Fleet with the Most Premium Offerings

With more than 500 new aircraft scheduled for delivery in the next several years - an average of two new aircraft every week - American will add new flights and products tailored to the Southern California market. This includes offerings such as American's award-winning service from LAX to JFK, featuring a dedicated fleet of 17 Airbus A321T aircraft operating exclusively on transcontinental flights between California and New York.

American's A321T offers the only true First Class experience from the West Coast to New York, featuring an exclusive cabin with 10 seats that turn into fully lie-flat beds and a 20-seat Business Class cabin also featuring fully lie-flat seats that provide a comfortable, connected and premium experience when flying coast to coast. The award-winning premium experience aboard the A321T is a favorite with the entertainment industry and has been compared to private jet service conveniently departing LAX 13 times every day. All customers onboard the A321T can enjoy inflight Wi-Fi and personal in-seat entertainment at every seat with up to 150 movies, up to 180 TV programs, more than 350 audio selections and up to 20 games.

Unmatched Service from Curb to Curb

"We've spent decades building, and are continually upgrading, an unforgettable premium service experience at LAX for our VIP guests," said J.C. Liscano, American's managing director of LAX. "We've carefully designed our premium service to cover every aspect of the journey - from leaving home, to traveling through the airport, enjoying the inflight experience and returning home. As our longtime elite customers know, the premium experience American provides at LAX cannot be matched." 

American's most elite and First Class customers can enjoy Flagship® Check-In, the only private, dedicated VIP check-in facility at LAX. American also offers Five-Star Service, a customized meet-and-greet service offering a personalized airport experience from curb to aircraft or aircraft to curb.  After checking in, customers can breeze through airport security with TSA PreCheck  and head to one of American's three lounges for personalized service and exceptional amenities before their flights. The lounges include a new Admirals Club® location at the American Eagle terminal that complements American's Admirals Club and Flagship Lounge in Terminal 4.

Our top customers in LAX with tight transfer times may be treated to American's luxury airport transfer program that escorts customers to their next gate of departure in a Cadillac CTS, SRX or Escalade. The only airline partnering with Cadillac for luxury airport transfers, American plans to roll out this program with the leading American-made luxury car brand at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and New York'sLaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, pending local approvals, by year-end.

About American Airlines Group

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL) is the holding company for American Airlines and US Airways. Together with wholly owned and third-party regional carriers operating as American Eagle and US Airways Express, the airlines operate an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to 339 destinations in 54 countries from its hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. The American Airlines AAdvantage and US Airways Dividend Miles programs allow members to earn miles for travel, vacation packages, car rentals, hotel stays and everyday purchases. Members of both programs can redeem miles for tickets as well as upgrades to First Class and Business Class. In addition, AAdvantage members can redeem miles for vacation packages, car rentals, hotel stays and retail products. American is a founding member of the oneworld alliance, whose members and members-elect serve nearly 1,000 destinations with 14,250 daily flights to 150 countries. Connect with American on Twitter @AmericanAir and Facebook.US Airways on Twitter @USAirways.

SOURCE American Airlines

Corporate Communications, 817-967-1577, mediarelations@aa.com