Tell Me Why

In the newest edition of Tell Me Why, Scott Laurence, SVP of Partnership Strategy and International, and Thomas Rajan, VP of Global Sales, discuss how American is implementing New Distribution Capability technology, which we use to distribute offers to customers through travel retailers, and giving customers the best content by improving the digital retail experience.

In the Season 6 premiere of Tell Me Why, Julie Rath, SVP of Airport Operations, discusses how the American team is carrying our strong operational momentum forward, following an impressive first quarter and spring break operation period so far. With the summer in sight, our focus remains on delivering a reliable operation for our customers by planning, executing and recovering. For the Airport Operations team, Julie says that means doubling down on our turn performance with the right tools and support. And when the inevitable spring and summer storms hit, we’ll continue to prioritize our swift recovery with a resilient plan, the right resources, refined processes and new technology.

Don’t have time to listen to a full earnings call? We’ve launched a new series with all the highlights. Hear what CEO Robert Isom had to say about our financial and operational performance in 2022 and what lies ahead for American.

In the Season 5 finale of Tell Me Why, Julie Rath, SVP of Airport Operations, joins Ron DeFeo, Chief Communications Officer, to discuss how our team ran a reliable operation during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period and is prepared to serve more than 10 million customers during the winter holiday travel peak. She said the team is prepared to control the controllables and deliver for our customers thanks to the great partnerships that exist across the airline, team member staffing and winter weather prep.

In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, Rusty Robertson, award-winning marketer and Co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), and Eric Stonestreet, two-time Emmy Award-winning actor, best known for his portrayal of Cam on the hit comedy series “Modern Family,” join Ron DeFeo, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, to talk about what makes American’s partnership with SU2C so unique, how funding supports scientists in the mission to make every cancer patient a long-term survivor and how their personal stories make them passionate about this cause.

In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, Scott Laurence, SVP of Partnership Strategy, joins Ron DeFeo, Chief Communications Officer, to talk about how our partnership strategy is helping us create a world-class customer experience. Scott also discusses the importance of our new agreement with all three major global distribution systems and how our redesigned AAdvantage program is helping contribute to our goal of returning to profitability.

In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, Ralph Lopez, VP of CLT Operations, joins Ron DeFeo, Chief Communications Officer, to talk about the work the team is doing in CLT to run a reliable operation. Succeeding in DFW and CLT is critical to our airline’s success and the team in CLT is setting an important tone across key dependability metrics. Plus, Ralph and Ron share more about their excitement for the upcoming World Cup.

In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, JC Gulbranson, Senior Vice President of Flight Operations and IOC, joins Ron DeFeo, Chief Communications Officer, to discuss American’s strong operational performance in September, including during the devasting hurricanes, as well as what we’re focused on as we carry that momentum into October and through the busy holiday travel season.

In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, Juan Carlos Liscano, Vice President of MIA Operations, joins Ron DeFeo, Chief Communications Officer, to discuss his personal story tied to Hispanic Heritage Month and the Latin Diversity Network (LDN) Employee Business Resource Group (EBRG) as it celebrates 25 years of supporting local communities.

You’ve likely seen news articles lately about changes to our schedule, but there’s more to the story than just the headlines. In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, Brian Znotins, Vice President of Network Planning, joins Ron DeFeo, Chief Communications Officer, to discuss how schedules are built to meet the needs of our customers, team members and the operation. Looking for more insight into how schedules are built? Read Brett Snyder’s story that breaks down the process on Cranky Flier.

In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, Meghan Montana, , Vice President and Treasurer, joins Ron DeFeo, Chief Communications Officer, to share insight on three important topics – liquidity, debt and fuel. Meghan explains how well-positioned we are to continue navigating the post-pandemic recovery and how her team is focused on managing costs and reducing debt so we can achieve our goal of returning to profitability.

In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, Anne Moroni, Vice President of Operations Planning and Performance, and Brian Znotins, Vice President of Network Planning, join Ron DeFeo, Chief Communications Officer, to talk through how we’ve worked to build and deliver the best network in the world. Together with their teams, they’ve focused on building a schedule that our customers want to fly and that we can run reliably, with extra focus on our two biggest hubs – DFW and CLT.

In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, Franco Tedeschi, VP of Domestic Airports and Strategic Partnerships, joins Ron DeFeo, Chief Communications Officer, to talk about the role the spoke and gateway airports play in running a reliable operation. Our spokes and gateways account for about 47% of the airline’s flying each day and play a critical role in achieving our objectives of excelling at the fundamentals and succeeding in DFW and CLT. In fact, 50% of all turns going to DFW and CLT come from the spokes and gateways.

In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, JC Gulbranson, SVP, Airport Operations, joins Ron DeFeo, Chief Communications Officer, to talk about the incredible work our airport teams have been doing to get ready for summer. We’ve been preparing for summer for nearly a year to get the right people in the right place to support our operation.

In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, COO David Seymour joins Chief Communications Officer Ron DeFeo to talk about our focus on excelling at the fundamentals. The “one team” mentality is pivotal to mastering the turn, which our team does nearly 6,000 times a day, and running a safe and reliable operation this summer and beyond.

Have you ever wondered why we do the things we do at American? The Tell Me Why vodcast is a series that gives team members a look at the "why" behind the decisions our leaders make in guiding the world’s greatest airline. In Season 5 of Tell Me Why, we’ll dive deeper into our 2022 goals and objectives so you can better understand how we’ll run a reliable operation and return to profitability this year.

On a recent episode of Tell Me Why – the American Airlines vodcast series for team members that shares the “why” behind the decisions we make – host Caroline Clayton, Vice President of Global Engagement for American, sat down with Molly Wilkinson, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Molly discusses the importance of Pride Month, American’s long-standing support for the LGBTQ community and the airline’s ongoing advocacy efforts across the United States to ensure all people are able to live as their true, authentic selves.

In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, Jennifer Saddy, Managing Director, Absence Management, discusses the importance of team members getting a COVID-19 vaccine, the efforts the company is undertaking to help facilitate that and the new incentive program for those who choose to receive a vaccine.

In the latest episode of Tell Me Why, Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja explains what our new Northeast Alliance with JetBlue means for our team, the value of codeshares and how the alliance will help American continue to grow in the future.

In the Season 4 debut of Tell Me Why, Jill Blickstein, Managing Director of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), explains the strides American made on sustainability in the past year, despite the challenges the company faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.In 2020, American set a goal to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and published its strategy for achieving that ambitious goal in a reimagined ESG report. American also took its first delivery of sustainable aviation fuel last year and launched a carbon offsetting partnership with Cool Effect. In this episode, Jill describes the significance of these developments, how they contribute to our long-term vision as a company, and what comes next in our efforts to run a more sustainable airline.